tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80817423072527897332024-03-16T23:52:39.714-07:00Singapore DissidentGopalan Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15399145588654603667noreply@blogger.comBlogger1638125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8081742307252789733.post-60059593899418345642018-11-29T20:28:00.002-08:002018-12-02T13:56:19.599-08:00Weak compliant citizenry will do Singapore in Ladies and Gentlemen,<br />
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I have been now living in Fremont San Francisco Bay Area USA for 27 years since leaving Singapore the place of my birth. I have no doubt of having done the right thing. And I believe the Singaporean system itself will do themselves in. <br />
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Singapore is not a democracy. We all know that. It is a system where a small elite of the family of Lee Kuan Yew deceased run the show. Unless you submit and are chosen, you have no say in the system regardless if you are citizen or not. It has no right to free speech and expression. Any public criticism is roundly crushed and if serious enough punished through their selected legal system. There are no free newspapers, no free media and everyone is closely surveilled day and night. They can do this because it is a small island. <br />
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This outright island wide control serves many purposes. One it attracts foreign investment which does not care of any human rights, only profits matter. Second it serves the rulers well, they can continue ruling without any opposition. <br />
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And the people of Singapore who live there are fully aware of everything I have said. And they still live there. <br />
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But here lies the problem. There should be no doubt in the minds of any thinking human being that this sort of life is unpleasant. It goes against human nature to simply live a life in submission. Afterall we are human beings and we can think. <br />
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And this is exactly why the Soviet Union collapsed. There people were required to suppress what they think and work not for your individual interest but for the state. This sort of life goes against the grain of any thinking human being and at the first opportunity they rebelled or they emigrated and thereby collapsing the state. <br />
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And the other problem Singapore island faces is that it is not Communist China. It is small and relies not on manufacturing but the brain industry where brain power jobs in science technology and commerce are needed. Second it is an English speaking country and therefore people are going to study in English either locally or in European Australian and Western democracies. And here lies the problem for this tightly controlled authoritarian state. The moment a young Singaporean studies in Australia or the West he immediately comes into contact with the freedoms of those countries. And he immediately realizes how unattractive a life in the Singaporean authoritarian state is. He immediately applies to remain in the West. He is glad that he has been able to leave the island and he encourages his entire family and friends to do the same. <br />
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Singapore is a very small island with a small population. If young educated skilled people continue to leave, the island has no choice to bring in replacements. You cannot bring in many Australians into Singapore because if you did, you would make the island another Australia, the people would demand their rights and the present rulers would be thrown out. That wont do. The only suitable people for Singapore are people from countries where citizens live without any rights, countries like China, Vietnam, Myanmar because in those countries they don't have any rights either. But the problem is these people usually do not know any English, the required language for international success. They usually don't have any real skills either. <br />
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So the end result with the increasing numbers of young educated Singaporeans leaving is the continued reduction in the quality of the workforce. No English no skills and uncompetitive compared to their competitors' across Asia. <br />
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Of course the Singapore government could stop Singaporeans from leaving Singapore for education but if they did this, it will only cause a flood of people attempting to leave either lawfully or otherwise and that wont do. I know they are trying various measures in state propaganda to paint a better picture but people with eyes can see how bad it has become. <br />
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I don't think people who love freedom have to do anything to bring about the fall of this authoritarian regime. They are already doing it to themselves by demanding people shut their mouths and brains and do as they are told. <br />
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Gopalan Nair <br />
Attorney at Law <br />
Fremont San Francisco California USA<br />
Tel: 510 491 8525<br />
Email: <a href="mailto:nair.gopalan@yahoo.com">nair.gopalan@yahoo.com</a> Gopalan Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15399145588654603667noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8081742307252789733.post-77171134004589576792018-10-24T22:22:00.003-07:002018-10-24T22:32:29.741-07:00What's wrong with Fascism SingaporeLadies and Gentlemen,<br />
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If we can accept the simplistic definition of a fascist state, it is one where all organs of control, the rule of law, the courts, the civil service, the newspapers, the trade unions, everything is under the control of the state. If anyone who knows Singapore, he would call Singapore without hesitation Fascist. In Singapore the legal profession, which democracies would proudly proclaim to be free and independent is under the direct control of the Peoples Action Party government; so are the judges, handpicked for their unquestioned loyalty to the ruling party; the civil service, the unions, everyone is directly under state control. <br />
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And the state like the Orwellian Big Brother is personified by Lee Hsien Loong the son of Lee Kuan himself Singapore's first dictator. All power emanates from Lee Kuan Yew, now deceased, but immortal through his son the present Cesar. <br />
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As in all Fascist states the truth really does not matter. What matters is what the dictator says which becomes the truth, when people no longer care for the real truth. For example the state puts out the trumpet that the island was a swamp 50 years ago and it is they who brought it in one generation to today's glistening glass palace. And they repeat it ad nauseum. And the rider to that is they alone can carry you through to another 50 years to even more glass towers and skyscrapers because their opponent cannot. Rationally this argument is unsound. Any other civic minded educated group of people should be equally capable if not more but that is not what the state wants to hear and that is what Singaporeans accept as true. <br />
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Hundreds if not thousands of Lee's political opponents have been cruelly and viciously destroyed for no rime or reason. JB Jeyaretnam committed no wrong. His only crime, challenging the Lee's. His punishment through the Kangaroo courts, repeated million dollar libel awards, bankruptcy and imprisonment. It is not that the people don't know that this was an abuse of legal process, but in a fascist state they have begun to believe that JB Jeyaretnam was a criminal after all, since that is what their leader (dictator) says. The same can be said for every single destroyed opposition politician, Chee Soon Juan, Teo Soh Lung, Tan Wah Piow, Lim Chin Siong, Chia Tai Poh etc etc. Every single Singaporean knows that great injustice is done to every single one of them but over time the injustice appears to fade and people finally accept that Big Brother was right after all. <br />
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Singapore's law make so many things criminal, things would be nowhere else be considered so. Even a one man peaceful protest even though you harm no one is illegal, chewing gum is illegal, openly criticizing the government is illegal, to yell at a police officer is illegal, to own a printing press is illegal, to distribute anti government literature in public is illegal and the list goes on. You don't need to be overtly brilliant to know that this doesn't make any sense and that is the truth. But the real truth is wiped out by the Fascist truth which is all this is perfectly fine; and the people simply accept it. <br />
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In Fascist Germany Hitler came out with venom against the Jews blaming them for everything, for the economy, for unemployment for everything. Germans knew this was false but they went along. Had Hitler told them that Jews were responsible for the weather, they would have believed it too. <br />
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And the bad news is this is what industrialists like. Industrialist would prefer fascism because they destroy trade unions, and thereby suppress wages. Hitler told his industrialists that he would leave them alone as long as they left him alone. And so it was boom time for Messerschmitt, Krupp's, and Daimler Benz, thanks to Adolf Hitler. And suddenly industrial production picked up and Nazi Germany became the economic powerhouse of Europe in the 30s and 40s. The same thing is happening is Singapore. For western investors the island is paradise, no strong trade unions, no minimum wage laws, a weak powerless labor force. <br />
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This may be good for the dictatorship temporarily but the size of the island and qualities of the population pose a long term threat to this dictatorship. It can be simply put in one sentence. Education, especially an English education works against dictatorships. The more people are educated, the more they travel overseas to the West, the more they begin to find life in dictatorships intolerable. If you have an education and a capacity to think for yourself, you are able to earn a living anywhere in the world, and need not submit to this "<strong><u>you listen to me or else</u></strong>" tiny one party police state. And what makes it easier for people to leave is the worldwide acceptability of the island's passport. You can travel to almost any country visa free. <br />
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More educated Singaporeans have left for Western democracies and continue to leave the island. Once those have settled in their new homes, they encourage their relatives and friends to do the same. Even more leave. I left Singapore finally in December 1991. It was the best decision I ever made. And ever more because I chose the United States, which I consider the best country in the world. Best because it is one country which recognizes that you are a human being and you have a head on your shoulders. <br />
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The other silver lining is Singapore's lowest birth rate in the world which stubbornly refuses to rise. This leaves them no choice but to bring in plane loads of Communist Chinese nationals to make up the numbers. But they too are poised to leave once again, once they have learned some English to Australia and the West. <br />
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This importation of Communist Chinese to replace English educated Singaporeans is obviously bad. They don't speak English and unable to behave the way acceptable in modern civilized society. You have heard of Chinese women openly defecating in public, spitting and other disgusting behavior. It will take years for them to become what a modern city like Singapore requires let alone any skill. It is a great loss to Singapore which requires the best skilled workforce to compete globally. <br />
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Today the hype and glory that one reads in the island's state controlled press has no bounds. One day it claims to have the world's longest Singapore Airlines flight, next day they have baked the world's largest pancake, third day they have cooked their largest number of Chinese noodles and so on goes their list of glory. But all this is simply nonsense. Having the longest flight does no good for your country. For things that matter, Singapore is last. It is last for freedom, last for having any people with courage, last for anyone with self respect and first place for sycophancy groveling crawling and licking boots. <br />
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There is hope after all my friends. Just wait. I too am watching. <br />
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<em>If you like what I write please publicize widely thank you.</em> <br />
<br />
Gopalan Nair <br />
Attorney at Law <br />
San Francisco Fremont California USA<br />
Tel: 510 491 8525<br />
Email: <a href="mailto:nair.gopalan@yahoo.com">nair.gopalan@yahoo.com</a>Gopalan Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15399145588654603667noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8081742307252789733.post-51289216748550110142018-10-20T21:11:00.001-07:002018-10-20T21:13:16.646-07:00For expatriates Singapore is paradise. For locals, somehting else. Ladies and Gentlemen,<br />
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You read many articles from foreigners why Singapore is such a great place to live. If you are there just to do business, love a well structured society where everything works, where no one complains about anything, where there is no crime because the culprits are brutally punished, if you don't really care about how locals live, then yes, the island is paradise. <br />
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But for Singaporeans who call it home, it is something else. It is a place where there is no freedom of speech. If you criticize the rulers, you are arrested, sued for defamation and bankrupted. You don't have the rule of law. Locals are dragged before the courts, denied a lawyer until they have confessed under torture and brought before Kangaroo courts to be punished. Anyone who is a known critic of the government is slated for enhanced punishment. You live a life in fear constantly making sure you are seen as a supporter of this government, making sure you don't utter anything critical, just as a Russian in the former Soviet Union, today's Communist china, Cuba or North Korea. <br />
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As for the foreigner expatriate, all these things do not matter. He does not care how people live there, how accused persons are treated, whether the courts are indeed Kangaroo Courts or whether there is freedom of the press. For him, it is just a foreign work station where he will be temporarily reside, after which he either goes home or to another country. But for locals who have any modicum of self respect, this is unacceptable. The expatriate who praises Singapore in such laudatory terms, have lived in a democracy in his own country. He would be outraged for one to suggest that he call Singapore home. <br />
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On the other hand there are many locals who do very well in Singapore. These are the ones who behave as if they are expatriates. They pretend not know any injustice meted out by their government, go about their lives in blinkers, pretend not to know of any denial of rule of law, freedom of speech or denial of democracy. In order to succeed they live a life of hypocrisy because this is the only way to succeed in the island. And this is what the rulers want. <br />
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As for the locals, if any believe that it is a wonderful island, it is mainly through ignorance. Today the vast majority of so called citizens are recently imported Chinese nationals from the Peoples Republic of China. These imported Chinese have overtaken in numbers local Singaporeans. These people have no objection in living the way they do, because this is exactly how they lived in China. They know in Communist China it is impossible to challenge the Communist Party. If you do, it is the firing squad. As long as they can make some money, it really does not matter if they had no freedom at all. <br />
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If you are upstanding self respecting proud human being, it is impossible to live with these fear ridden people. In doing so, you bring shame to yourself. <br />
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It is quite obvious that many locals detest the way they have to live in fear. And if given a chance they leave for settlement aboard primarily to Western democracies. With the Singapore passport being welcome in almost every country in the world, this is causing a huge exodus of people, mostly the English educated and skilled who are leaving. Although the island government is aware of this brain drain, they are resigned to the fact that they cannot stop it, and perhaps think that it is better that these people who are thorns on their side, should leave. <br />
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With the continuing exodus of the best and brightest among them, the result is the gradual and continual weakening of Singaporean society as a whole. Local Singaporeans today more and more do not really care for their country, their main concern being self interest. As for those who have left, there is no love lost for their former country. As far as they are concerned it is good riddance. In my case, I was given an education by England and treated much better by them, than Singapore. And today I care more for England than my former country Singapore. And this is exactly the sentiment thousands of the overseas Singaporeans feel and the future emigrants I am sure too. <br />
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But for some reason the message does not seem to register in this government. They don't seems to appreciate that unjustly punishing government critics and chasing them away have long term negative consequences. On the other hand treating citizens fairly and creating a democracy instead of authoritarianism is a good thing. This is why you notice that democracies like Australia USA and Canada continue to attract the best and brightest in the world. Those attracted to Singapore on the other hand are ignorant Chinese economic migrants, money launderers and tax cheats who don't mind the criminality of the government. <br />
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The best thing you can do if able to is to leave the island for good. Make your new lives in Australia and the West. You would realize instantly how refreshing it is to be free and your children would grow up totally different from the way they would have if left in that fear ridden island. <br />
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I am an Immigration Lawyer in San Francisco California Bay area. If you need assistance to move to USA do let me know. However I do not provide free legal advice. <br />
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<em>If you like what I write please help to publicize this blog.</em> <br />
<br />
Gopalan Nair<br />
Attorney at Law <br />
San Francisco Fremont California USA<br />
Tel: 510 491 8525<br />
Email: <a href="mailto:nair.gopalan@yahoo.com">nair.gopalan@yahoo.com</a> Gopalan Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15399145588654603667noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8081742307252789733.post-41662472799345670082018-10-14T18:49:00.000-07:002018-10-15T14:31:59.536-07:00Singaporeans themselves are the biggest obstacle to democracy in Singapore. Ladies and Gentlemen,<br />
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Those among the citizens of Singapore island who want democracy should realize that it is Singaporeans themselves who are the main obstacle to democracy. <br />
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The majority among Singaporeans for whatever reason simply do not want democracy and would rather live under a one party state fascist government in the island. This is clear and manifest from each and every single parliamentary election since independence where the ruling party has consistently won without exception. <br />
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The minority who claim to fight for democracy such as Singapore Democratic Party leader Chee Soon Juan and others complain the reason for the majority voting for this government is fear and therefore the results unfair. <br />
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It is true that the system favors the government in elections through the control over citizen's housing, employment and pension funds but the truth is, despite all these pressures, if the people really wanted the government out, they can. They can vote them out. And if that doesn't work they can bring them down in massive street protests, a result easily achievable in an overcrowded tiny island. <br />
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But this has never happened. In every single island election, the ruling one party PAP government have consistently won, despite the fact that they manipulate the courts, deny human rights including free speech and expression, deny workers rights and the rule of law. The people of Singapore are fully aware of these transgressions but yet have willingly voted for this government. Therefore who are these minority folk on their moral high horse, shouting injustice to demand a change in the system. <br />
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The history of that island is tragic. The certain punishment upon anyone who challenges the system is crystal clear. Very good people from JB Jeyaretnam, Chee Soon Juan, Tan Wah Piow, James Gomez, Roy Ngerng, etc. etc. have all been destroyed or sent into exile. Their only crime was to fight for Singapore's betterment. This one party government in the island does not mind turning away every single intelligent honest citizen who cares for his country. Although a great loss to the island, it seems they do not care. The only thing they appear to care is protecting their own interests and making sure the island is attractive to foreign investors and money launderers; because a country that does not give their citizens any rights is very good for company owners bottom profit line. <br />
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My advice to concerned citizens who yearn for freedom and democracy in Singapore island is to not waste their time. This Singapore government will not only make sure you never succeed, you will be punished victimized and your careers ruined. It serves no purpose in your martyrdom because you are simply not appreciated by the majority of citizens who willingly live under this regime. This regime cannot last simply because as the best and brightest continue to either withdraw from participation or leave the island for settlement abroad, the quality of the citizenry weakens. Those remaining are always less intelligent, lacking courage and the inability to understand that it is good to be free. As the best and brightest continue to leave Singapore, this one party state government are left with no choice but to bring in huge numbers of Chinese nationals to replace those who left. These new arrivals are invariably of poorer stock compared to those leaving. By and large they are economic migrants not dedicated to the interests of their new home. <br />
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Hundreds and thousands of very good people, highly skilled and motivated with a real desire to do good for their country have been completely destroyed. JB Jeyaretnam was a brilliant criminal lawyer but his challenge to this dictatorship resulted in repeated jailings, bankruptcy and disbarment. So was the fate of Chee Soon Juan, a university professor reduced to poverty and loss of his career. Roy Ngerng was sacked from his job and had to go into exile, his career destroyed. James Gomez was a professor whose career was destroyed and forced to go into exile. JB Jeyaretnam's son, Kenneth tried his hand at politics but has given up and gone back to England. I myself have been disbarred in the island having previously left in 1991 for California. I am happy to be practicing law in California USA. Imagine the contribution we could have made to our country if not for this totally insecure regime, who can only feel safe by destroying anyone who oppose them <br />
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For myself I can say this. The best decision I made was to leave Singapore. Had I stayed behind, I am faced with the totally unacceptable option of either supporting this one party dictatorship which denies every single human right using Kangaroo courts or face total poverty in opposition. Looking back, I can emphatically say without hesitation, I made the right choice to leave. Today I live in a free society, California USA, where I can speak my mind and strive for a career and happiness, which would not be possible under the PAP Singapore government. I simply cannot accept life under a totalitarian regime, and not accepting it, I will be destroyed. <br />
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I have seen hundreds of very good people, the best, being destroyed by this fascist government. Please don't destroy your lives. Don't let this government destroy you. The best thing you can do for yourselves is to withdraw participation with this government and better still to leave for a better life abroad. <br />
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I am an immigration lawyer. If you are planning to come to America, you can call me. I do not provide free advice. I can be contacted by telephone at 510 491 8525 or Email at <a href="mailto:nair.gopalan@yahoo.com">nair.gopalan@yahoo.com</a>. I am in the San Francisco Bay Area. <br />
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If Singaporeans want to live in the disgraceful way they do, let them. You don't have to. <br />
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<em>If you like what I write, please spread this blog widely both in Singapore and worldwide. Thank you.</em> <br />
<br />
Gopalan Nair Gopalan Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15399145588654603667noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8081742307252789733.post-52066865630480645132018-09-28T22:44:00.001-07:002018-09-28T23:16:03.193-07:00Singapore destroys history Professor Doctor Thum Ping TjinLadies and Gentlemen,<br />
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The latest lamb to the slaughter in the one party state Singapore is the Singaporean Oxford History professor Thum Ping Tjin. <br />
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The pattern in that dictatorship island is tragically predictable. In their quest to tighten the laws even further to silence dissent, a select committee was formed to legislate "fake news" laws. <br />
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When Professor Thum correctly, at the Singapore hearing, pointed out it was the government themselves who were the main "fake news" culprits, routinely arresting and imprisoning political critics throughout the entire island history, by labelling them communists, it naturally attracted their wrath once again, and the destruction machinery went into action.<br />
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This claim by Professor Thum is, to anyone who knows Singapore, completely accurate because the only crimes of those imprisoned was that they were critics of the government. It was the same old case of "give a dog a bad name and hang him".<br />
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Just as in Stalinist Russia, in Singapore, the real truth never matters. The truth is what they say it is. Once the decision is made to destroy the opponent, a series of articles are immediately released in their state controlled press attacking not only what Thum said but also attacking his reputation. Their news smear sheets questions his credentials as professor, that he never was a professor at Oxford, that all his claims were lies and even worse, he is a traitor to Singapore despite incontrovertible proof recently released by British archives that none of these people were even remotely Communist! They were all arrested according to British archival reports only because they were political threats to Lee Kuan Yew and his government. <br />
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The consequence of the state action against Thum is for him, sadly, dire. He is for all purposes, finished. He himself has become, pardon the pun, history, like the subject he specializes. The result is he will never be employed in that island, he will never be allowed any privilege either by the government or by anyone. He will not be granted any license, any teaching position. In other words, he is henceforth condemned. <br />
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This Singapore one party state are total Machiavellians. Once you cross them, you are forever condemned. There is no hope of rehabilitation. Thum is condemned for life. Perhaps if he crawls licks their boots and begs for mercy, perhaps, but unlikely. <br />
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This is what befalls any open critic of that one party state. And it is easy for the state like Singapore island to do this. It is a small place. The state controls everything and everybody, the press, the government, TV stations, radio, all government offices, through threats and intimidation all private companies, teachers, schools, employers, citizens, everyone! Thum has no chance whatsoever. <br />
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The message is very clear and everyone knows this. If you want to survive in Singapore mind your own business. If you stick out like a nail, you will be hammered. Thum has by daring to openly criticize Singapore government not only hurt himself, he has become a example for Singapore to warn everyone else not to be like him under pain of total destruction. <br />
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Here are the salient examples in the island's shameful history. You will see primarily the choice of punishment is defamation of action lawsuits in their Kangaroo courts. <br />
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J B Jeyaretnam was lawyer and the most prominent of opposition critics from the 1970s to the 1980s. A lawyer, he spoke the truth and strove for democracy. His fate, being struck off the Bar repeatedly sued for defamation, made to pay all his money to Lee Kuan Yew, the then Prime Minister and Son, jailed and bankrupted and made penniless. He died in 2008. <br />
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Chee Soon Juan, also a former professor is presently living in Singapore. Because he challenged this government, he was as expected, thrown out of his professorship, repeatedly sued for defamation, repeatedly jailed and bankrupted. Now he is jobless and penniless, his career wasted. <br />
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Teo Soh Lung was a lawyer and opposition critic. She too was victimized, jailed, defamed and discredited resulting in her having to give up her law practice. <br />
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I was a lawyer and former opposition politician in Singapore. I was repeatedly harassed, disciplined by the Singapore legal profession on trumped up charges, convicted of criminal offenses. Instead of living in the island to be victimized even further I left for permanent settlement in California USA where I now live and practice law. <br />
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Besides the victims above of this one party island dictatorship, there are several thousands more who were abused and punished all because of their opposition to this regime. Some continue to live in the island in obscurity. Thousands have left the island. <br />
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Of course it hurts those who have the courage to stand up for their country. They are the best among citizens because only they despite calamitous consequences of losing their livelihoods and being reduced to a life of poverty did what they did to stand up against this dictatorship. This shows courage and integrity. <br />
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But I believe that the ones who suffer more are this island dictatorship itself. Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew's son and his dictatorship are literally shooting themselves in the foot. <br />
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Firstly every Singaporean who knows that persecuting these heroes is wrong, would develop a deep hatred against this regime, like I did. They would also lose respect for all the state institutions. Each time the island's Kangaroo courts destroys an innocent political opponent, respect for the legal system and courts is lost. Each time the Prime Minister, the late Lee Kuan Yew's son sues his opponent in court, he is despised, mocked and ridiculed. He loses all credibility. The newspapers in the island are made fun of, as nothing but propaganda. In the end, the entire present government, their police, their courts is ridiculed and loses respect. <br />
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I am a England trained barrister, formerly practicing in Singapore. When I wrote a post in 2008 in this blog criticizing a shameless woman judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean for "prostituting herself and her office as a judge" while presiding over the Chee Soon Juan defamation case, I was criminally charged for "insulting a civil servant" and sent to jail. But there was no insult at all since the English word "to prostitute" also means abusing ones office, in her case judicial office, which she clearly did. <br />
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I had left Singapore much earlier in 1991 because I had lost all respect or confidence in this regime. It is impossible to live a normal human life if you have to live in fear. Today every Singaporean lives in fear of the government, making sure they are not seen as openly and publicly criticizing the government because at the slightest, he can be hauled up and destroyed. <br />
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Thousands of Singaporeans who do not wish to live this way emigrate to the West where they can hope to live normal lives without fear. Parents send their children abroad in the hope that they can develop normal thinking minds instead of being brainwashed in the island. This mounting brain drain to the West is hurting this regime at its very foundation. The only who are leaving are like me, educated intelligent thinking individuals. I have taken my skills, and experience and use it for the betterment of the society where I live now, California USA instead of Singapore. I think this massive emigration of educated Singaporeans is the biggest threat to this dictatorial regime. <br />
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I am sure these dictators in the island are fully aware of the loss they are suffering, losing the very best in their society through emigration. But unfortunately for them, they are unable to do anything about it. For one, as the island relies on foreign investment for survival, a society with a helpless workforce like in Singapore with no worker rights are, alas, is attractive to foreign companies. Secondly a society with no rights whatsoever ensures the dictators continue to remain in power. This one party state is therefore willing to accept the fact that its best citizens will leave the island thereby reducing the quality of its people as a necessary evil which they can temporarily overcome through importing foreign labor and giving instant citizenship. Unfortunately these foreign imports are no match for the highly skilled courageous committed and honest Singapore citizens who leave, as they usually do not know English, have little skills in comparison and have no clue about their island to which they have recently come. They have no loyalty or interest in the island. Their only purpose is to be able to earn a few dollars more than what their impoverished home countries of China India Bangladesh Philippines or Burma can provide. <br />
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Tiny Singapore island cannot survive if all its best citizens pack up and leave its shores. <br />
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My advice for those who want to see the fall of the Singapore dictatorship like I do is to emigrate. This is the best way you can hurt this regime. Although this method will not reap immediate results, in the competition among countries, the productivity and ingenuity of its citizens matter. <br />
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The best Singaporeans who leave the island will be positively contributing to the societies to which they go, like Australia. I have been living in California USA since 1991 and am a valuable member of my society here. <br />
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By their abuse of power and authority, by which they have discredited themselves, they have lost one of their citizens, me. I think you can hurt this regime quite well. All you have to do is to pack up and emigrate to the free world. This way, you not only benefit yourself, you also effectively hurt this regime. In the long run, with a constant loss of local Singaporean talent, they would be hard pressed to succeed or compete with other countries whose citizens on the other hand have respect for their countries and governments. <br />
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An Australian is proud of Australia, proud of its democracy, its rule of law, its freedom. An average Singaporean is ashamed of Singapore. <br />
<br />
Gopalan Nair <br />
Attorney at Law <br />
A Singaporean in Exile <br />
San Francisco Fremont California USA<br />
Tel: 510 491 8525 <br />
Email: <a href="mailto:nair.gopalan@yahoo.com">nair.gopalan@yahoo.com</a> <br />
<br />
<em>If you like what I write please disseminate this blog across the island and world. Thank you.</em> <br />
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<br />
<br />Gopalan Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15399145588654603667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8081742307252789733.post-45926428905962056702018-09-22T15:11:00.002-07:002018-09-22T15:11:43.610-07:00An Appeal to Singaporeans and Readers WorldwideLadies and Gentlemen,<br />
<br />
I had been silent for a bit but have now returned. The job I am doing here is very important for making known to Singaporeans and the world what the island of Singapore really is. In this regards I ask that you help publicize this blog as widely as possible to regain the readership which I had prior to my becoming silent interregnum. As the reader would already note, this dictatorship is already suffering with the flood of Singaporeans leaving for settlement abroad, the almost daily floods, the beginning of the collapse of the government housing market of 99 year leases of which are the vast majority of housing, lack of credibility due to the Kangaroo courts, judicial beatings (caning) and the free willy police force. By publicizing this even further the eventual doom for the dictatorship would become that much more precipitous. <br />
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Thank you ladies and gentlemen<br />
<br />
Gopalan Nair Gopalan Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15399145588654603667noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8081742307252789733.post-64813432209534589562018-09-19T21:34:00.003-07:002018-09-19T22:15:42.761-07:00Like the proverbial ostrich burying its head, Singapore shuns threats to existenceLadies and Gentlemen,<br />
<br />
What Singapore has going for it is it's island wide Stalinist style control over the media. Singapore government like Stalinist Russia controls the entire media, every single newspaper, TV station every magazine or article either written or broadcast. As a result they control the thought process in the island. George Orwell in 1984 stated what is happening in the island, who controls the thought process, controls the future. Alas this is the tiny Singapore island today. This gives the government the ability to paint a rosy picture. Reading the Singapore newspapers, you are not going to hear any bad news; the politicians are the best, the ministers are the best, the teachers are the best, the schools are the best, everything is just fine; that is what you are told. And by this pretense, which the world believes, they manage to get business and investment, jobs and money. But unfortunately this will not last simply because it is not true. <br />
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There are a number of fundamental weaknesses for which this dictatorship has no answer. <br />
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One of them is climate change. If you read the news, which unfortunately they cannot hide, you would have known the flooding occurs in the island not occasionally as in the past but almost every other day. They have no control over the climate. The island straddles the Equator and temperatures are becoming unbearable causing sea levels to continually rise and increasingly severe thunderstorms that drop almost an entire ocean of water each time it rains. It cannot build a dyke around the island as they could in Holland and with half the tiny island underwater there would be nowhere left. If the island cannot survive, this dictatorship cannot survive too. <br />
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Another is the monumental housing fiasco. 90% of the tiny island population live in government owned apartments that are leased for 99 years with the government retaining ownership. If the earlier apartments were built in the 1950s, 60 years of the leases have run out. These houses were leased using the people's retirement savings where each apartment costs several hundred thousand dollars. Now after having paid several hundred thousands of their retirement funds, eventually when the lease runs out, the government takes it and they have nothing. They would be left with no retirement at all! And if they wanted to sell it, no one would buy, since it is a depreciating asset, and worse, a depreciating asset with a termination date! Now if the island population find themselves cheated of their entire retirement savings by this government under false promises, there would either be a revolution, or there would be bloody murder! Either way this dictatorship has to fall. <br />
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Singapore has the world's lowest fertility rate in an already tiny island population. If no one is having any children, they can only function, as they do now, by importing large numbers of ethnic Chinese from Communist China who think they can earn a few bucks more in Singapore. These people have no loyalty to the island, no understanding of Singaporean culture and society. The island will be soon transformed into a clone of any city in mainland China. I cannot predict the consequences of such an alien society changing what was once Singapore, but I reckon, there is going to be some problems. Whether this will contribute to the eventual downfall of this dictatorship, I am sure it will. <br />
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Large numbers among Singaporeans emigrate to the West democracies. This is only to be expected. An educated person with skills and self respect would not want to live in a dictatorship like this without the right to free speech, Kangaroo courts, and forced submission to this dictatorship. I did not, which is why I left. Thousands like me have left for Australia, New Zealand, America and the West. And from the safety of being outside Singapore and where the dictatorship's thugs and their Kangaroo courts have no power over me, I can write and speak about Singapore and discredit the dictatorship. Almost every other Singapore émigré to the West discredits the island too. This tends to expose what the island really is, and will undoubtedly contribute to its downfall in the end. <br />
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Singapore has managed to carry on so far by hoodwinking the rest of the world into thinking it is something it is not. It has managed to carry on under hypocrisy and false pretenses. But truly no country can go on for too long like this. Soviet Union managed to go some way by propaganda through its state controlled Pravda and Izvestia. But it finally fell. <br />
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Singapore has managed so far by repressing any criticism and locking up and bankrupting its critics. This has been an inducement to foreign multi national companies which consider the island stable and it's people submissive. But this tactic of profiting by suppressing its own citizens cannot last forever although I concede that it may survive some time yet. <br />
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Singapore is like a wooden house which is rotten in its foundation. Slowly but surely the rot will work its way up and the structure has to collapse. <br />
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Western democracies on the other hand have got it right. They understand that a happy and free individual is a productive individual and an asset to his country. The majority of Singaporeans hate their government and if given a chance, would leave the island. Such a people cannot advance the island. I now live in United States and an American citizen. I love the United States for what it stands because I am free. Because I know I have rights. Because I know there is the rule of law. Because I know I don't have to agree with the government if I do not, and because I know I cannot be punished if I oppose the government. That is why I would do the best for my country now, America. Which is why I don't wish the Singapore dictatorship well even though I was born in that island. <br />
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You all know that people around the world if given a chance would want to emigrate to America, to Australia or New Zealand. Singapore island is very low on their list. But it is difficult to emigrate to these countries because they want only the best. The only ones who end up in Singapore are the Communist mainland Chinese, the impoverished Indians and Bangladeshis for the simple reason that they are not accepted in the West. You can see therefore in the skills ranking, that these are second rate people, and the unemployed Australian or New Zealander who ends up there. They are not the cream. The cream are in the US. I am sure you appreciate what this means. If you do not have the best in workers, you are not going to compete the best either. Which obviously explains why the ones who change the world live in the West. In Singapore, all they can do is to write some propaganda in their state controlled press about their inventing the universe! Another reason why the best would not come to that island is its ridiculous reputation. Who would want to come to an island where people can be caned and whipped just for chewing gum! Even if not true, that's what they think!<br />
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The decline in the quality of the Singaporean is due to actions of this dictatorship themselves. Singapore schools can produce good students. But when teachers are ordered to stymie and stifle creativity and individual thinking, children who are able to leave the island leave because they don't want to be brainwashed. And that is the reason why I left. <br />
<br />
Gopalan Nair <br />
Attorney at Law <br />
A Singaporean in Exile <br />
San Francisco Fremont California USA<br />
Tel: 510 491 8525<br />
Email: <a href="mailto:nair.gopalan@yahoo.com">nair.gopalan@yahoo.com</a>Gopalan Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15399145588654603667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8081742307252789733.post-9795895036403104282018-09-14T23:46:00.001-07:002018-09-15T00:14:15.215-07:00How does the one party island Singapore fascist dictatorship stay in power Ladies and Gentlemen,<br />
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This is how the island state Singapore a one party state fascist dictatorship stays in power <br />
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<u>Attractive to Foreign Investment</u> <br />
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Singapore island state is the ultimate country for foreign investors. There is no minimum wage laws, employers can pay anything they want. Workers have no rights. Labor Unions either don't exist or if they do, serve the employers, not workers. The Kangaroo courts placed by the dictatorship will always side with employers in any dispute, so workers have no chance. Under these circumstances the island is a paradise for foreign companies who are eager to establish factories there. As a result there is abundant work for Singaporeans. But they have no rights. This is a sort of trade off. You have work, which is better than no work, while at the same time, you have no rights. This is so because foreign companies are concerned with profits, not human rights. Any worker who strikes is immediately arrested and jailed. If he is a foreign worker immediately deported thereafter. <br />
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This fear among the workers prevents anyone from asserting his rights. <br />
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<u>Attractive to Foreign Investment Good Infra Structure</u><br />
<u></u><br />
The island dictatorship knows that foreign companies look for a good infra structure to locate their foreign factories. If you have mud roads, and broken telephones, it does not help business. So the island dictators made sure that Singapore has good infra structure; good roads, good telephones and good transportation. <br />
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<u>Attractive to Foreign Investment; The English language</u><br />
<u></u><br />
Singaporeans can speak and understand English although very poor in articulation. They speak a very bad version of English. However it is still English and this is attractive for foreign businesses. They also learn their own native languages, Malay Chinese and Tamil. The English language knowledge in the island gives it an edge over other countries who do not have English in attracting foreign investment. <br />
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<u>Kangaroo Courts </u><br />
<u></u><br />
There is no rule of law in the island. Instead they have rule by law. Which means the dictatorship, by definition, can pass any law they want, which they do, to ensure that government policy, not law, becomes law by itself. Therefore always anyone who criticizes the government is arrested and found automatically guilty and punished, any political opponent is immediately destroyed through the courts. In most cases after the case is over, the judge waits for orders from the government on the sentence. After the inevitable verdict, their newspapers and media which are all state controlled display the victim's identity and pictures, in order to prevent him from being employed anywhere in the island and as a deterrent to anyone who may foster such stupid ideas. In this manner any criticism is effectively silenced. <br />
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The lack of any opposition to the government makes the island a very quiet and predictable place which also is another big reason why foreign companies are attracted to the island, its stability and predictability because everyone is scared. <br />
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<u>Israeli Style Total Surveillance/ Small Island</u><br />
<u></u><br />
In Israel if any Palestinian is up to any mischief within Israel or the Palestinian territories, he is immediately monitored through modern surveillance techniques and immediate action is taken and the person arrested. In Singapore it is far easier to do this because it is much smaller. In Singapore a tiny island, the dictators have employed a vast force of Internal Security surveillance where your every move is watched and observed 24 hours a day. As a result any attempt by anyone to stage a protest or disturbance is immediately thwarted, and the citizen promptly arrested and jailed, his identity is immediately published forthwith and his life promptly destroyed. No resistance to the island's rulers stands a chance. The entire island population have resigned themselves to a life of total submission. <br />
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<u>Who are these Singaporeans who willingly live this way?</u> <br />
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By and large they are the average Singaporean. By which I mean a person who has had some sort of an education or even a college degree. But he is by no means intelligent. He is not aware that it is better to live a free man than one under bondage like he does. He reckons that as long as he minds his own business and not question authority, he can live a reasonably good life. Imagine the Germans in Nazi Germany. Many Germans who lived under Hitler were aware that what Hitler was doing was wrong such as killing Jews and punishing detractors. But then they reckon that as long as they kept their mouths shut, life was very good in Nazi Germany. Work was plentiful, wages were good and they could go on holidays too. In fact just as Singapore manages to attract foreign investment by suppressing its workers, Nazi Germany managed to receive foreign trade and investment for the same reasons. Nazi German economy too, like Singapore did very well, but as expected it did not last. <br />
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<u>Large foreign 3rd rate work force</u> <br />
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Singapore has a large foreign workforce, as much as 30%. They mostly come from the nearby impoverished Asian countries such as Burma, China, Indonesia, Philippines and Bangladesh. The wages in their native countries are miserable so it is much better to work in Singapore. But they lack passion about anything. All they need is a job which their own countries does not provide. For these workers, they have no concern about human rights and workers rights since all they are concerned is the good wages they get in Singapore compared to their home countries. All of them would prefer if given a chance to go to countries where they would be treated better such as Australia or USA but because their skills do not qualify them, Singapore is still better to work compared to their home countries. Therefore these workers are by and large poor quality in intelligence, skills and capabilities. As a result of the dictatorial life they live under, Singapore suffers because of their inability to attract the best and brightest who prefer life in Western democracies. <br />
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<u>Singapore does not murder people</u> <br />
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The Singapore government does not murder it's citizens. I think if they could get away with murdering their political opponents, they will, but they realize that if they resort to murder like other dictators, the international community would oppose their actions and it would be difficult to preserve their dictatorship. So instead of murdering you, they imprison you, harass you, victimize you, defame you, deny you employment and harm not only you but also your entire family. Sometimes I wonder which is worse, just killing you outright or victimizing you your entire life! <br />
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<u>In the long run Singapore dictatorship will lose out from competition from free and democratic countries</u> <br />
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Today countries by reason of the Internet and International Mass media are able to attract the best and brightest. The best and brightest individuals are those with an education, and ability to think for themselves and the knowledge that human beings are much happier in their lives if they are free with human rights. For example although I was born in Singapore, I am a lawyer by profession and my skills enables me to live in a country that I choose. Because of my knowledge of these things, there is no reason for me to live under a dictatorship. Thankfully I do not have to live like the poor Bangladeshi or Filipino who has the desperate choice of living in his own country and starving to death or live in a dictatorship like Singapore where he can least survive and support his family. So I realty don't have to live in Singapore or Burma or North Korea or Communist China. I would be miserable if I did so. This is why I choose to live in America because I don't have to live in a country with Kangaroo Courts and under a Lee family dictatorship. <br />
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I am sure you can see that I am not the only one who yearns to live as a free man and not under a repressive regime like Singapore. Just like me there are millions of others around the world who would similarly avoid countries like Singapore as they would the bubonic plague. Not only the rest of the world, but also within this dictatorship one party state island, there are many Singapore citizens who detest living under these miserable circumstances and are trying to leave the island for democracies elsewhere. Many have already left. <br />
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And the ones who are leaving are the best among the human race. They have skills, education, knowledge, a desire to live as a free people, analytical ability to judge between right and wrong. Such people contribute greatly to the countries where they live. I am for instance a practicing lawyer in Fremont San Francisco California USA. I am able to do good work and contribute to society. I am an asset to my society. Unlike the average helpless Singaporean I am able to create my own destiny. This freedom helps me in my state of mind thereby enabling to improve on my work, my thinking and my overall well being. On the other hand if I was forced to live in a repressive island like Singapore, I would be unhappy, my work and productivity will suffer. <br />
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In the long run this denial of human rights and the treatment of their citizens as worse than dogs will begin to hurt them. Countries which are free will beat the island in the race for progress because the best of human kind continue to go to the free counties and only the 2nd rate and less intelligent remain in the island. So as the free countries increase their proportion of skilled intelligent thinking citizens, Singapore will begin to have more and more third rate helpless desperate ignorant people. In this manner, their productivity will decline, their competitiveness will decline and they would be left far behind. <br />
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<u>If America asks Singapore to jump, they would ask how high? </u><br />
<u></u><br />
In order to stay in power Singapore is totally obedient to America. One way they stay in power is because America is supportive due to their obedience. This disgraceful total submission to America not only preserves the dictatorship, it remains very attractive to American companies foreign investment. Like what President Truman told a journalist who questioned American support for Nicaraguan dictator Samoza, "He may be a son of a bitch, but he's our son a bitch"!<br />
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<u>How you can defeat this Singapore dictatorship</u> <br />
<br />
Unfortunately if you were to politically oppose this regime, you will not succeed. You will be arrested thrown in jail, and financially destroyed. And because there are still those in the island who would work for this regime to destroy you, you don't stand a chance. And the fact that they have a bad name as they do now, will not affect their ability to attract investment since foreign companies are only concerned with the profit line. <br />
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But you can still do your part in working to destroy this dictatorship by simply packing and leaving for the Western democracies. Singapore has a very low birth rate and they manage to still go on only by bringing in large numbers of impoverished poorly skilled workers from neighboring countries. If you continue to leave the island in large numbers, the population of the tiny island will materially change with a majority of third rate foreigners in the population ratio. Because the quality of these foreign workers are generally poor, and the world becoming more aware of the shameful political system in that island, it will not be able to attract anyone with any true understanding of the island. <br />
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When the dictatorship finds that it cannot attract skilled thinking intelligent people, Singapore as you know today will collapse. You can do your part by packing and leaving. <br />
<br />
Gopalan Nair <br />
Attorney at Law <br />
A Singaporean in Exile <br />
Fremont San Francisco California USA<br />
Tel: 510 491 8525<br />
Email: <a href="mailto:nair.gopalan@yahoo.com">nair.gopalan@yahoo.com</a><br />
<br />Gopalan Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15399145588654603667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8081742307252789733.post-14383854174725647312018-09-11T20:08:00.000-07:002018-09-11T20:29:14.045-07:00Singapore a place for sycophants oppurtunists yes-men and crawlers Ladies and Gentlemen, <br />
<br />
I have been observing Singapore politics for decades now. Besides I was in active politics in Singapore between 1980 to 1990. One thing has dawned on me over the years which is this. Singapore will not change into a democracy anytime soon, perhaps never. <br />
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And the activists fighting for freedom admirable men and women such as Thum Ping Tjin, Kirsten Han, Jolovan Wham are in fact not going to get anywhere in their quest for democracy in the island. I am not in any way denying the good work they are doing but their struggle for freedom in the island will not succeed, now or even the near future. <br />
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You have to understand human nature. Democracy is an intangible idea. First you have to understand what it is and why it is a good thing. But most people, the average man, has not studied political philosophy. He has not read John Stuart Mill on Liberty and other scholastic works. He goes about his daily life, goes to work, feeds his family, goes to the movies and tries to be happy. In Singapore as long as he minds his own business and does not question the Singaporean leaders, he is left alone unharmed. So whether he has a right to read what he wants really does not bother him. <br />
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What Thum Ping Tjin is trying to do is not only to try to convince the average Singaporean, who by the way is quite happy to be left alone without ever knowing anything about the virtues of democracy, that democracy is a good thing, that Lee Kuan Yew's son the Prime Minister is not allowing it, and therefore someone who espouses democracy should be put in his place to give them democracy. This is a difficult task under normal circumstances. <br />
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Any attempt by anyone to impose democracy on a people is unlikely to work. And it will not work in Singapore. If you are championing democracy, the people should already be demanding it. And then you can be their leader to bring it about. This however is not the case in Singapore. There is no indication in the island that anyone wants democracy. Occasionally you have a lone protestor or demonstrator who is promptly arrested and sent to jail under circumstances where no one cares. <br />
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Recently with the seismic political change to more political openness in Malaysia, there has been heightened activity among Thum Ping Tjin and other like minded people including the British citizen former Singaporean Tan Wah Piow in political meetings, public lectures, political seminars and YouTube sessions on democracy. Of course I applaud them for their actions. But frankly all this is not going to go anywhere. Simply because the average Singaporean has no clue or even the slightest interest in any of it. <br />
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But such a bleached uninteresting society will not succeed in the long run. Anyone who has any education in such things is going to find the Singapore island a very boring uninteresting distasteful place. If you have an education and skills, if you are a thinking person, you can make a living anywhere in the world, and you don't necessarily have to live in such as dictatorship. I am such a person. I don't have to live under PAP Singapore. So I left. This is why the brain drain which has been going on for a long time will continue. The remining Singaporeans will be those who do not have such an education about liberty and democracy who will be content to live in an island like that. <br />
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There are even people in the US who think that way. Only recently I was having a barbecue with an ethnic Chinese from Taiwan who lives in California. He had only good things to say about Singapore, which only included its economic success. But when I told him that you cannot criticize the regime, his answer was there is no need to criticize. According to him, all you have to do is keep your political ideas to yourself and make as much money as you can, like they do in Communist China. Which he said is not hard to do. <br />
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Once again let me make my point clear. You can only bring about change if the ground already demands change. If no one wants any change, as a lone voice on the pedestal, you cant get anywhere. And Thum Ping Tjin should be aware of that I hope. <br />
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Let me give you and example although it does not fit squarely in this case. Che Guevara was very successful in his revolution in Cuba. Why, because the Cubans already hated their dictator Batista and wanted him out. On the other hand he failed miserably in the Belgian Congo and in Bolivia, where he was shot, for the simple reason that both these people were not dying to oust their rulers let alone know what communism even meant!<br />
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Amarjit Singh, the former Singapore judge who now works for Rajah and Tann was previously my employer in that island. While I was actively pursuing my fight for democracy in the island, he once told me this in the form of a parable. He said about my activism " When it shines, go out. When it rains go out with an umbrella. When it is stormy, don't go out al all". At the time I considered him a shameful opportunist prepared to lick the boots of the government. But now, although I detest his way of life, I think he was right in his advice. <br />
<br />
Gopalan Nair <br />
Attorney at Law <br />
Singaporean in Exile <br />
Fremont California USA<br />
Tel: 510 491 8525<br />
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.comGopalan Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15399145588654603667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8081742307252789733.post-74180798750882820462017-11-20T20:31:00.002-08:002018-09-11T19:13:15.711-07:00Singaporeans will never achieve democracyLadies and Gentlemen,<br />
<br />
The common but erroneous perception is that with more education and higher standard of living, a society would become more democratic. The belief was totalitarianism and societal advancements work in opposites. Unfortunately this is not true as history shows, and point proven by Singapore. Since independence no doubt the island has progressed economically, but as for democracy, it not only did not take root, and as far as democracy is concerned, it has regressed, not progressed. <br />
<br />
And the reasons are obvious. A people cannot want what they do not know. And Singaporeans thanks to their dictators carefully shielding them from any mention of democracy have become today totally ignorant of what democracy even is. The ordinary Singaporean just as another Iraqi or Syrian or Afghan wants a job, food to eat and roof over the heads. As for democracy, he hasn't heard of it, and as long as he is left alone, quite happy not to have it. <br />
<br />
And this is exactly the state of affairs the islands dictators want. Singaporeans have no real rights as an American would have. Singapore police can arrest anyone anytime. But usually they only harass political opponents and criminals. If you are not a criminal or a political dissident, you have no problems at all. <br />
<br />
Singapore does have a constitution which is almost the same as that of United States, replete with the rights of man, human rights, free speech and the entire litany. But unlike the United States all that is ignored and the police do whatever they want. But since the police and the Kangaroo judges placed by the rulers only punish anyone who is a critic or a criminal, people don't care whether they have rule or law or not since it doesn't affect them personally. <br />
<br />
As a result Singapore today is a very repressive society with no rule of law. But the repression is only used against political opponents. The rule is, as long as you allow the rulers to be as corrupt as they want, you have no complaint of the lack of a free press, or lack of any freedoms, then you can go on with your life uneventfully and quiet. Since the aspirations of the average Singaporean only extends up to his daily upkeep and daily material needs, the dictators can continue in power for another 100 years as long as you accept your humble state. <br />
<br />
Unlike the ordinary Singapore who lives this way, there are those, only a handful who may know that a free and independent life without having to live under Big Brother is much more meaningful and rewarding. So the handful, such as Chee Soon Juan and the late JB Jeyaretnam or myself have stuck our necks out to challenge this totalitarian regime for which we have suffered great punishment. And then there are the other handful who are aware but do not think it worthwhile to openly question authority. These people simply leave the island for settlement in free countries. I am one of them. <br />
<br />
The procedure used by the Singapore dictators is an old practice used in ancient China. It comes from the saying "You kill a chicken to frighten all the monkeys". So if you have a lone critic like myself or JB Jeyafretnam, you come down hard on them. You abuse the law and punish them severely. By doing this you send a message to every helpless Singaporean that if you oppose, this is what will happen. This method of intimidation is very successful. It was successful in ancient China as it is today in Singapore. In this manner and entire society is silenced into submission. <br />
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But our leaving the island is not going to change the average mindset of the average Singaporean. As long as they have some income and some security of life, they will continue living under this totalitarian administration which will continue for a long long time. <br />
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As we can see of US and British history, it was the early founding fathers of the United States and England who believed that the best way to live is to be free. I am one such person who also believes this. And the US and British democracies exist because the rulers themselves understood this and encouraged this. Had they not, the US and Britain would be no different from Singapore of today. But since the Lee family who run the island of Singapore appear more concerned of their own personal interests and personal wealth, I don't see anytime when they would ever allow a democratic society in the island of Singapore. <br />
<br />
And Singaporeans being satisfied with the way they live, absent democracy are not going to demand it either. <br />
<br />
Gopalan Nair <br />
Attorney at Law <br />
Fremont San Francisco California USA<br />
Tel: 510 491 8525<br />
Email: <a href="mailto:nair.gopalan@yahoo.com">nair.gopalan</a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null">@yahoo.com</a>Gopalan Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15399145588654603667noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8081742307252789733.post-252602885864987982017-10-31T22:20:00.003-07:002017-10-31T22:47:43.884-07:00Why I am very proud of being disbarred (struck off the Rolls) from practicing law in SingaporeLadies and Gentlemen,<br />
<br />
Under any other circumstances, a lawyer wouldn't be jumping up for joy if he was disbarred in any jurisdiction. Being disbarred is usually not a good thing, unless of course you are disbarred from Nazi German Courts, North Korean courts or Singapore. <br />
<br />
That's why I am proudly displaying what they call a court order in disbarment in 2011. It is taken from their Singaporean website. <a href="http://www.singaporelaw.sg/sglaw/laws-of-singapore/case-law/free-law/high-court-judgments/14650-law-society-of-singapore-v-gopalan-nair-alias-pallichadath-gopalan-nair-2011-sghc-191">http://www.singaporelaw.sg/sglaw/laws-of-singapore/case-law/free-law/high-court-judgments/14650-law-society-of-singapore-v-gopalan-nair-alias-pallichadath-gopalan-nair-2011-sghc-191</a><br />
<br />
But strangely enough, for a Singaporean like me who was born in that island and now proudly practicing law in California and US Federal Courts, it is indeed turned out as a sense of pride for me to say, <strong>I was disbarred in the Lee dictatorship of Singapore island. </strong>Shouldn't I be proud!<br />
<br />
Here is the judgement of the Singaporean Kangaroo courts against me<br />
<em><span class="title"></span></em><br />
<em><span class="title">Law Society of Singapore v Gopalan Nair (alias Pallichadath Gopalan Nair)<br />[2011] SGHC 191</span></em><br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0"><tbody>
<tr valign="top"><td align="left" class="txt-label"><em><nobr><b>Suit No:</b></nobr> </em></td><td class="txt-body"><em>Originating Summons No 947 of 2009 (Summons No 1404 of 2011)</em></td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td align="left" class="txt-label"><em><nobr><b>Decision Date:</b></nobr> </em></td><td class="txt-body"><em>22 August 2011</em></td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td align="left" class="txt-label"><em><nobr><b>Court:</b></nobr> </em></td><td class="txt-body"><em>High Court</em></td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td align="left" class="txt-label"><em><nobr><b>Coram:</b></nobr> </em></td><td class="txt-body"><em>Tan Lee Meng J, Tay Yong Kwang J, Lee Seiu Kin J</em></td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td align="left" class="txt-label"><em><nobr><b>Counsel:</b></nobr> </em></td><td class="txt-body"><em>Peter Cuthbert Low and Han Lilin (Peter Low LLC) for the plaintiff; Defendant absent and unrepresented.</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<em> </em><br />
<table><tbody>
<tr valign="top"><td align="right" class="txt-label"><em><nobr>Subject Area / Catchwords</nobr> </em></td></tr>
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<div class="txt-body">
<em>Legal Profession – Disciplinary Proceedings</em></div>
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<em>22 August 2011</em></div>
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<em>Tan Lee Meng J (delivering the grounds of decision of the court):</em><br />
<span class="Judg-Heading-1"><em>Introduction</em><br />
</span><em></em><br />
<em>1 The Law Society of Singapore (“the Law Society”) applied under s 82A(10) of the Legal Profession Act (Cap 161, 1990 Rev Ed) (“the LPA”) for an order that the defendant, Mr Gopalan Nair alias Pallichadath Gopalan Nair (“GN”), be “struck off the roll, prohibited from applying for a practising certificate, censured and/or otherwise punished” for misconduct unbefitting of an advocate and solicitor as an officer of the Supreme Court or as a member of an honourable profession. We ordered that GN be struck off the roll and now give the reasons for our decision.</em><br />
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<em></em><br />
<em>2 GN, who was admitted onto the roll on 10 August 1980, is a non-practising advocate and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore. He is presently an American citizen residing in California, USA.</em></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="p1_3"></a><em></em> </div>
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<em>3 Although GN is a non-practising advocate and solicitor, he is still subject to the control of the Supreme Court as s 82(A)(2) of the LPA provides:</em></div>
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<em>All Legal Service Officers and non-practising solicitors shall be subject to the control of the Supreme Court and shall be liable on due cause shown to be punished in accordance with this section.</em></div>
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<em>4 Pursuant to ss 82A(4) and (5) of the LPA, the Law Society applied in ex parte Originating Summons No 947 of 2009 for leave from the Chief Justice for an investigation to be made into a number of complaints about GN’s misconduct. On 4 September 2009, the Chief Justice appointed a Disciplinary Tribunal (“the Tribunal”) comprising Mr Toh Kian Sing SC and Mr Tan Jee Ming, under s 90 of the LPA.</em></div>
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<em>5 The following 5 charges of misconduct were preferred by the Law Society against GN:</em></div>
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<b><em></em></b><br />
<b><em>1<sup>st</sup> charge</em></b></div>
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<em></em> <em>That you on the 4<sup>th</sup> day of July 2008, at or about 10.35 pm, near the junction of Bukit Timah Road and Race Course Road, Singapore, which is a public place, did use abusive words towards certain public servants, namely, police officers of the Singapore Police Force, in particular Senior Staff Sergeant Kang Wei Chain and Sergeant Noor Azhar, by shouting:</em></div>
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<em><span class="Judg-QuoteList-2-No"></span></em> </div>
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<em><span class="Judg-QuoteList-2-No">(a)</span><span class="Judg-QuoteList-2-Item">“Fuck off you policeman, don’t waste my fucking time. You go and do your job properly and go catch thieves and I did nothing wrong. I am waiting for the fucking taxi”;</span></em></div>
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<em><span class="Judg-QuoteList-2-No"></span></em> </div>
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<em><span class="Judg-QuoteList-2-No">(b)</span><span class="Judg-QuoteList-2-Item">“Fuck off, forget about my name, you fucking bastard.</span></em></div>
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<em><span class="Judg-QuoteList-2-No"></span></em> </div>
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<em><span class="Judg-QuoteList-2-No">(c)</span><span class="Judg-QuoteList-2-Item">“You fucking Malay bastard”.</span></em></div>
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<em>at the said police officers in the execution of their duties as such public servants, and you had thereby committed an offence punishable under section 13D(1)(a) of the Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) Act, Chapter 184, for which on 5 September 2008, you were convicted and sentenced to a fine of $2,000 in default two week imprisonment, and you are hereby guilty of conduct unbefitting an advocate and solicitor as an officer of the Supreme Court or as a member of an honourable profession which warrants disciplinary proceedings against you within the meaning of section 82A(3)(a) of the Legal Profession Act (Chapter 161).</em></div>
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<b><em></em></b> </div>
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<b><em>2<sup>nd</sup> charge</em></b></div>
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<em></em> <em>That you on the 4<sup>th</sup> day of July 2008, at or about 10.35 pm, near the junction of Bukit Timah Road and Race Course Road, Singapore, which is a public place, did behave in a disorderly fashion to wit, by gesticulating with your hands and shouting loudly, and you had thereby committed an offence punishable under section 20 of the Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) Act, Chapter 184, for which on 5 September 2008, you were convicted and sentenced to a fine of $1,000 in default one week imprisonment, and you are hereby guilty of conduct unbefitting an advocate and solicitor as an officer of the Supreme Court or as a member of an honourable profession which warrants disciplinary proceedings against you within the meaning of section 82A(3)(a) of the Legal Profession Act (Chapter 161).</em></div>
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<b><em>3rd charge</em></b></div>
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<em></em> <em>That you in your blog post at http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com dated 29 May 2008 entitled “Singapore, Judge Belinda Ang’s Kangaroo Court”, did make the following offending statement insulting the judiciary of Singapore, namely, the Honourable Justice Belinda Ang:</em></div>
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<em>“The judge Belinda Ang was throughout prostituting herself during the entire proceedings by being nothing more than an employee of Mr Lee Kuan Yew and his son and carrying out their orders.”</em></div>
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<em>and you had thereby committed an offence punishable under section 228 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224, for which on 17 September 2008, you were convicted and sentenced to 3 months imprisonment, and you are hereby guilty of conduct unbefitting an advocate and solicitor as an officer of the Supreme Court or as a member of an honourable profession which warrants disciplinary proceedings against you within the meaning of section 82A(3)(a) of the Legal Profession Act (Chapter 161).</em></div>
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<b><em></em></b> </div>
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<b><em>4<sup>th</sup> charge</em></b></div>
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<em></em> <em>That you in your blog post at http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com dated 28 November 2008 entitled “Hello from Freemont, near San Francisco, California”, did make the following offending statement amounting to contempt of court:</em></div>
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<em>“…. I am defying the undertaking that I gave in court on September 12, 2008 when I admitted being in contempt of court. .. I had also given an undertaking to remove the 2 blog posts, of Sept 1 2008 and Sept 6, 2008 which referred to my trial and conviction before Judge James Leong in the Subordinate Courts for disorderly behaviour and insulting a policeman, charges entirely made up by the police to discredit me. I will be re-posting those 2 blog posts and stand by every word that I had written in them …” (Sic).</em></div>
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<em>and you are hereby guilty of conduct unbefitting an advocate and solicitor as an officer of the Supreme Court or as a member of an honourable profession which warrants disciplinary proceedings against you within the meaning of section 82A(3)(a) of the Legal Profession Act (Chapter 161).</em></div>
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<b><em></em></b> </div>
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<b><em>5<sup>th</sup> charge</em></b></div>
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<em></em> <em>That you in your blog post at http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com dated 30 November 2008 entitled “Justice Judith Prakash, Another Kangaroo Judge”, did make the following offending statement insulting the judiciary of Singapore, namely, the Honourable Justice Judith Prakash:</em></div>
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<em>“Judge Judith Prakash of the Singapore High Court has prostituted herself in the hearing of the Kangaroo T shirt case on November 24, 2008 by being nothing more than an employee of Lee Kuan Yew and his son, whom he appointed Prime Minister. By her actions in sending these young men to prison and making them pay crippling court costs of $5,000 each, she has shamelessly disgraced herself, her office as a judge, disgraced the Singapore Constitution and disgraced Singapore.”</em></div>
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<em>and you are hereby guilty of conduct unbefitting an advocate and solicitor as an officer of the Supreme Court or as a member of an honourable profession which warrants disciplinary proceedings against you within the meaning of section 82A(3)(a) of the Legal Profession Act (Chapter 161).</em></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="p1_6"></a><em></em> </div>
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<em>6 GN sent, by way of emails to the Disciplinary Tribunal Secretariat, his Defence and his Amended Defence on 1 December 2009. However, although he knew that his case was being heard by the Tribunal on 20 and 21 September 2010, he did not appear for the hearing.</em></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="p1_7"></a><em></em> </div>
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<em>7 The Tribunal found GN guilty of all 5 charges brought against him and determined that there was cause of sufficient gravity for disciplinary action to be taken against him. The Chief Justice then appointed Mr Peter Low, the plaintiff’s counsel, under s 82A(10) of the LPA to make the present application in Summons No 1404 of 2011.</em></div>
<span class="Judg-Heading-1"><em>Decision of the Court</em><br />
<em></em> </span><em>8 GN did not attend and was not represented by counsel at the hearing before this Court on 25 July 2011.The Court was satisfied that he had been duly served the requisite papers and that he was fully aware of the hearing scheduled for 25 July 2011.</em><br />
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<em>9 </em><em>The issues before this Court were whether due cause for disciplinary action against GN under s 82A(3)(a) of the LPA had been shown and if so, the appropriate penalty to be imposed on him.</em></div>
<span class="Judg-Heading-2"><em>Due cause</em><br />
<em></em> </span><em> </em><br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="p1_10"></a><em>10 As for what constitutes “due cause”, the relevant part of s 82A(3) provides:</em></div>
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<em>Such due cause may be shown by proof that a Legal Service Officer or a non-practising solicitor, as the case may be —</em></div>
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<em><span class="Judg-QuoteList-1-No">(a)</span><span class="Judg-QuoteList-1-Item">has been guilty in Singapore or elsewhere of such misconduct unbefitting a Legal Service Officer or an advocate and solicitor as an officer of the Supreme Court or as a member of an honourable profession ...</span></em></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="p1_11"></a><em></em> </div>
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<em>11 The Law Society rightly submitted that for the purpose of considering whether there has been “misconduct unbefitting an advocate and solicitor as an officer of the Supreme Court or as a member of an honourable profession” under s 82(3)(a) LPA, the meaning accorded to the identical phrase in s 83(2)(h) LPA should be adopted. As such, both misconduct in the solicitor’s professional capacity as well as misconduct in the solicitor’s personal capacity are relevant to this inquiry (see Law Society of Singapore v Heng Guan Hong Geoffrey [1999] 3 SLR(R) 966 at [24]). The same standard applies to non-practising lawyers.</em></div>
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<em>12 The Law Society relied on the findings of the Tribunal to support its assertion that “due cause”, as defined in s 82A(3)(a) of the LPA, had been shown.</em></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="p1_13"></a><em></em> </div>
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<em>13 The 1<sup>st</sup> and 2<sup>nd</sup> charges against GN concerned his conviction with respect to two offences under s 13D(1)(a) and s 20 of the Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) Act (Cap 184, 1997 Rev Ed) for uttering vulgarities when speaking to officers of the Singapore Police Force and for behaving in a disorderly manner towards the police officers who had enquired why he had knocked a number of times on a police vehicle bearing the registration number QX501H. The gravity of his use of abusive and obscene language was stressed by the Tribunal in its report at [28]-[29]:</em></div>
<div class="Judg-Quote-1">
<em>28 It is clear beyond reasonable doubt … that the Respondent uttered vulgarities towards the two policemen after he was stopped by them.All this happened in a public place in the full glare of members of the public. [T]he Respondent behaved in a petulant manner and apparently took grave offence when he was stopped by the police. His reaction was entirely unprovoked. Even if the Respondent was unhappy about being questioned by the police, he should have acted with self-restraint and moderation. In the entire episode, he displayed neither virtue. If he had responded to the questions in a co-operative manner, his subsequent arrest could possibly have been avoided. In our view, these vulgarities which the Respondent spewed were not only profoundly offensive, but also had the effect of lowering the dignity and professionalism of law enforcement officers.</em></div>
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<em></em> </div>
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<em>29 We further find the racist outburst directed at Sergeant Daud to be wholly reprehensible and deserving of condemnation in a multi-racial society like Singapore. It demonstrates a callous, unpardonable disregard for the sensitivities of the different races that make up our society. It is not behaviour that one would expect of a member of the legal profession.</em></div>
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<em>[emphasis added]</em></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="p1_14"></a><em></em> </div>
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<em>14 In regard to his disorderly behaviour in the presence of the police, the Tribunal noted at para [39] of its report: </em></div>
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</div>
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<em>39 Creating a ruckus in a public place, gesticulating wildly (even if a non-threatening manner), spewing vulgarities towards public officers shows a very low level of restraint and self-control as well as a complete lack of respect for law enforcement officers. Simply put, the Respondent had made a complete nuisance of himself in public. The fine of $1000 (or one week imprisonment in default thereof) may be marginally less serious as compared with the Respondent’s offence in MAC 3211.Nevertheless, such unruly, petulant and disorderly conduct (in full view of the public) is unfitting of an advocate or solicitor as an officer of the Court and as a member of a honourable profession. After all, a solicitor is expected to exercise a high level of self restraint and a bad tempered solicitor can only bring disrepute to the legal profession.</em></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="p1_15"></a><em></em> </div>
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<em>15 As for the breach of the undertaking referred to in the 4<sup>th</sup> charge, the background for the undertaking given by GN is as follows. When the case regarding GN’s abuse of the policemen, as outlined in the 1<sup>st</sup> and 2<sup>nd</sup> charges pressed by the Law Society against him, was heard before District Judge James Leong (“DJ Leong”), GN made several offending statements in open court. For instance, on 25 August 2008, he said:</em></div>
<div class="Judg-Quote-1">
<em></em> </div>
<div class="Judg-Quote-1">
<em>... I frankly <b>do not have any faith or belief that I will get a fair trial in this Court</b>. Any attempt on my part to recall these witnesses would only be a waste of my time since I believe the result will be the same in any event.</em></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="p1_16"></a><em></em> </div>
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<em>16 Subsequently, GN authored two blog posts dated 1 September 2008 and 6 September 2008 on http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com. These were entitled, “Another classic case of trying to use the courts to silence dissent” and “Convicted” respectively and were replete with statements which attacked DJ Leong. For instance, he stated:</em></div>
<div class="Judg-Quote-1">
<em>As for Mr. James Leong, I have this to say. I have begun to know him pretty well since it took 18 days of trial. He is a good man at heart; there is no doubt about it. If he had his way, there is no doubt he would have acquitted me immediately. But alas he is weak. He cuts a pathetic figure. A man, because of his circumstances, having to do things that he does not really want to do. He knows that his employment as a judge in the Singapore courts depends on the patronage of Lee Kuan Yew and his friends. He also knows that Lee Kuan Yew demands his judges to punish political opponents of the government. And therefore to keep his job as a judge, he has no choice but to find me guilty....</em></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="p1_17"></a><em></em> </div>
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<em>17 GN’s statements prompted the Attorney-General to make an application under Originating Summons No 385 of 2008 for an order of committal for contempt. When the hearing commenced on </em><em>12 November 2008 before District Judge Leslie Chew (“DJ Chew”), GN admitted that he had made the offending statements, apologized for his behaviour and gave an undertaking to the Court not to make similar offending statements and to remove the blog posts dated 1 September 2008 and 6 September 2008. As such, DJ Chew only reprimanded him and ordered him to pay the costs of the proceedings. As soon as GN left Singapore and returned to California, he breached his undertaking to the Court.</em></div>
<div class="Judg-1">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="p1_18"></a><em></em> </div>
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<em>18 What was truly unacceptable was that GN subsequently declared that he never had any intention of abiding by his undertaking and that he deliberately breached the undertaking at the first opportunity. The Tribunal stated as follows at [62]:</em></div>
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<em></em> </div>
<div class="Judg-Quote-1">
<em>By flagrantly flouting his undertaking to the court in such a defiant manner, the Respondent displayed absolutely no remorse or contrition for what he had done prior to leaving Singapore for the United States. He was simply trying to make a mockery out of the entire affair. The apology he made and the undertaking he gave were both quickly withdrawn once he was safely out of Singapore. Clearly the apology and undertaking was an expedient way to a lighter sentence – the Respondent by his own admission, never intended or believed in either.</em></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="p1_19"></a><em></em> </div>
<div class="Judg-1">
<em>19 As for the offensive blog post regarding Belinda Ang J on 29 May 2008, which was the subject matter of the 3<sup>rd</sup> charge, that blog post was in the context of a defamation suit brought by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong against the Singapore Democratic Party. For this charge of contempt of court, GN was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment by Kan Ting Chiu J. The sentence meted out gave a clear indication of the seriousness of the contempt. Yet, in his blog post in relation to Judith Prakash J on 30 November 2008, who had, at the material time, found a number of persons in contempt of court for wearing T-shirts depicting a kangaroo in judges’ robes, GN continued to abuse the judiciary.</em></div>
<div class="Judg-1">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="p1_20"></a><em></em> </div>
<div class="Judg-1">
<em>20 After taking all the circumstances into account, we found that the Law Society had shown that there was due cause for disciplinary action to be taken against GN. As such, we proceeded to consider the penalty that ought to be imposed.</em></div>
<span class="Judg-Heading-2"><em>The appropriate penalty</em><br />
<em></em> </span><em>21 Disciplinary action is intended to punish the errant solicitor for his or her misconduct, deter others from misbehaving in the same manner, and protect public confidence in the administration of justice: see Law Society of Singapore v Tham Yu Xian Rick [1999] 3 SLR(R) 68 (at [18]) and Law Society of Singapore v Rasif David [2008] 2 SLR(R) 955 (at [28]).</em><br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="p1_22"></a><em></em> </div>
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<em>22 Although GN had been convicted of a number of offences, which were referred to in the charges preferred against him by the Law Society, it should be borne in mind that in Law Society of Singapore v Wee Wei Fen [1999] 3 SLR(R) 559, the Court observed (at [25]) that it cannot be that every violation of the criminal law implies a defect of character which renders the offender unfit to be a member of the legal profession and that the nature of the offence is clearly material. Similarly in Law Society of Singapore v Wong Sin Yee [2003] 3 SLR(R) 209, the Court stated (at [12]):</em></div>
<div class="Judg-Quote-1">
<em>We would, at the outset, make it quite clear that conviction of criminal offence does not per se imply a defect of character rendering an advocate and solicitor unfit for his profession. It is the nature of the offence, and the circumstances under which it was committed, and in turn the punishment imposed, which are likely to be determinative…. The offence must be of such a nature that it is expedient for the protection of the public and the preservation of the good name of the profession to remove the solicitor from the roll or from practice.</em></div>
<div class="Judg-Quote-1">
<em>[emphasis added]</em></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="p1_23"></a><em></em> </div>
<div class="Judg-1">
<em>23 The offences in respect of which GN had been convicted and the circumstances under which they were committed lead to the conclusion that a serious penalty must be imposed. Apart from abusing the police with foul language in public and behaving in a disorderly manner in the presence of the police, GN was imprisoned for contempt of court in relation to his blog post regarding Belinda Ang J on 29 May 2008.Furthermore, he openly defied the undertaking he had given to the District Court shortly after he was convicted by Kan J for contempt of court. He then posted offensive statements in his blog about Prakash J on 30 November 2008.</em></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="p1_24"></a><em></em> </div>
<div class="Judg-1">
<em>24 When considering whether or not to strike an advocate and solicitor off the rolls, it is worth noting that in Law Society of Singapore v Amdad Hussein Lawrence [2000] 3 SLR(R) 23, the Court held at [11]:</em></div>
<div class="Judg-Quote-1">
<em>The earlier decisions in Law Society of Singapore v Ravindra Samuel [1999] 1 SLR(R) 266 at [15]; Law Society of Singapore v Tham Yu Xian Rick (at [18]; Law Society of Singapore v Suresh Kumar Suppiah [1999] 2 SLR(R) 1203 at [18]; and Law Society of Singapore v Heng Guan Hong Geoffrey [1999] 3 SLR(R) 966 at [28]-[29] have consistently affirmed and applied the following principles on disciplinary sentencing:</em></div>
<div class="Judg-QuoteList-2">
<em>(a) where a solicitor has acted dishonestly, the court will almost invariably order that he be struck off the roll of solicitors;</em></div>
<div class="Judg-QuoteList-2">
<em>(b) if he has not acted dishonestly, but is shown to have fallen below the required standards of integrity, probity and trustworthiness, he will nonetheless be struck off the roll, as opposed to being suspended, if his lapse is such as to indicate that he lacks the qualities of character and trustworthiness which are the necessary attributes of a person entrusted with the responsibilities of a legal practitioner.</em></div>
<div class="Judg-Quote-1">
<em>[emphasis added]</em></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="p1_25"></a><em></em> </div>
<div class="Judg-1">
<em>25 In the present case, the relevant question is whether or not GN should be struck off the roll on the basis that he lacked the necessary attributes of a person entrusted with the responsibilities of a legal practitioner. After taking all the charges into account, we were of the view that he lacked the said attributes. In particular, the facts in the 3<sup>rd</sup>, 4<sup>th</sup> and 5<sup>th</sup> charges disclosed a contemptuous disrespect on the part of GN towards the judges concerned. Such egregious misconduct is totally unacceptable. As there were no mitigating circumstances to persuade us that he merited a less severe penalty than striking off the roll, we ordered that he be struck off the roll of advocates and solicitors of the Supreme Court of Singapore and awarded costs to the Law Society.</em></div>
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<em></em> </div>
<div class="Judg-1">
I don't think there is much for me to add here except to say those accusations of my swearing at policemen are accusations pulled out of a hat by 5 policemen who all testified in orchestrated parrot fashion that I had swore at them in a public place. But even if I did so what, they deserve to be yelled at behaving like thugs as expected. And in no country in the world do you disbar a lawyer for hurling insults at policemen of all people, except perhaps Nazi Germany. </div>
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But I love the part where it says I should be disbarred for having no respect at all for these Kangaroo courts. And that part I am proud to say is all entirely true. Yes I don't have any respect for judges like you whose main occupation is to persecute anyone who has the guts to stand up to the Singaporean dictatorship. </div>
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Finally if you note, they have ordered costs against me in the judgement. It clearly says "<em>and awarded costs to the Law Society". </em>But you won't be surprised to know that till now they have not demanded any money! And it has been 7 years since the judgement. Why if they believe, as they claim that they have indeed a real legal system. This is not a legal system. These are Kangaroo Courts. And I am very proud that I had this opportunity in 2008 when I visited Singapore to write a blog stating publicly that Singaporean judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean <em>"prostituted herself and her office"</em> in punishing Chee Soon Juan a government critic exercising his right to freedom of speech. And I am very proud of resisting an unlawful arrest on July 4, 2008 in Little India Singapore while walking peacefully on a public street. </div>
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And finally if the Singaporean authorities are so sure that I am unfit to be a lawyer, why have they not made any attempt to alert the State bar of California, where I am now in active law practice, to commence proceedings against me or the Bar England and Wales where I am still on the Rolls? Perhaps they are not so sure they will receive the same verdict as in their Singaporean Kangaroo courts. <br />
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And as for their claim that I was <em><strong>"absent and unrepresented"</strong></em> at the hearing in Singapore, did they really believe that I would travel to Singapore from California again after what they have done to me! It is like asking a zookeeper to go into a tiger's cage voluntarily after I had just escaped after an attack! What do they think I am, insane? </div>
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And let me say I enjoyed every minute of my escapade with these dictators and their Kangaroo courts in 2008, being arrested being thrown in jail, being accosted on the streets, being held in solitary confinement, refusing to break. It was all great fun. I wouldn't have had so much fun even in the darkest corners of the African jungle. Thank you, you bunch of goons, you made my day. I will never forget the experience. And best of all, you have given me an opportunity to continue making fun of your courts and your country. <br />
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If you had been wiser, you could have just deported me and no one would have been the wiser. But thanks to the stupidity and shortsightedness of your Attorney General Walter Woon, you had me arrested where clearly it was a wrong decision. And you successfully made my case known throughout the world and the opportunity to put your Kangaroo courts in the spotlight of the world. </div>
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Gopalan Nair </div>
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Attorney at Law </div>
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A Singaporean in Exile</div>
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Fremont San Francisco California USA</div>
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Tel: 510 491 8525 </div>
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Email: <a href="mailto:nair.gopalan@yahoo.com">nair.gopalan</a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null">@yahoo.com</a></div>
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Gopalan Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15399145588654603667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8081742307252789733.post-72263421857193042142017-10-21T23:28:00.002-07:002017-10-31T20:48:28.369-07:00The wasted minds of Singaporeans under a dictatorship. <em>updated 10/31/2017</em><br />
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Ladies and Gentlemen,<br />
<br />
Singapore is a dictatorship where dictator Lee Hsien Loong whose father was the island's dictator before him. It is a place where everything is literally controlled by the state and him. The people have no human rights. Despite Constitutional provisions free speech is prohibited, even one man peaceful demonstrations are illegal, all newspapers are controlled and owned by the state, rule of law does not exist and judges behave more like state appointed politicians rather than independent arbiters of justice. Any similarity between them and judges is just the black robes they wear and there ends any connection with the law. The police are there to carry out the orders of their superiors. Whenever they see anything suspicious they immediately get out their cell phones to their superiors. If ordered to arrest they do so immediately. And if it happens to be anyone who was known to have criticized the rulers, arrested without question. <br />
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Judges police civil servants and anyone in authority in Singapore invariably punish known political opponents, whenever they have an opportunity. No need to have done anything wrong. <br />
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If they didn't persecute known critics, their jobs are on the line. <br />
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You have in this society a climate of fear and the need to be either left alone. So you stay as quiet as possible or better still join the state apparatus, called Peoples Association. It is like joining the Communist Party in Stalin's Russia. If you show support, you stand to gain but if you are seen to oppose, you are persecuted. This system is based on the old Chinese practice called "You kill a chicken to frighten the monkeys". The government comes down hard on critics mainly because this discourages others, much less to punish the political opponent. This was how it is done in Communist China, it was how it is done in Russia and it is how it is done in Singapore island. <br />
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The government has done very well over 50 years of rule instilling fear across the island where today the citizenry have been effectively brainwashed into a state of hopelessness. Every Singaporean willingly accepts the life of a sheep or a tamed animal who understands that to survive, the best thing is either to openly sing praises or at least keep your mouth shut.<br />
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But it takes a large dose of hypocrisy and mental gymnastics to pretend everything is fine when you know you live at the mercy of the rulers. As a result it causes a man to lose sight of his own thought process and become someone other than himself. This is a sad wasted life, not only for yourself but also for the state. As a result of the fear their talents, imagination, ideas are all wasted because it is dangerous to be too public about what you may think. A nail sticking has to be immediately hammered. Result, an entire society all thinking alike and no one had a mind of his own.<br />
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The law course in England which many Singaporeans take, naturally includes Constitutional law, the right of citizens to be free, human rights, the right to free speech and expression, the rule of law. They also know that when men are free, they as a society come up with new ideas, a better way to live, encourages change in society because change is good thing by itself. It is through change that a society gets better and the educated who are more capable of improving society and their law degree helps not only themselves society as a whole. <br />
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Singapore lawyers do the routine stuff. In what they call a law practice, they represent a client in an accident case, insurance case or debt collection. But where it really matters, where men's civil rights are denied, where a man is falsely accused of defaming the Prime Minister, they are nowhere to be seen. They will not under any circumstances represent a political opponent of the Lees. They know full well that the Constitution provides for free speech and expression, yet they will not dare to claim that Lee Kuan Yew or his son are persecuting opponents.<br />
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They shut their minds on Constitutional rights of their people because their masters would punish them if they did. The question is then, why pretend that you are a lawyers if all you can do is debt collection and accident cases? Are you not bound as a lawyer to uphold the rights of your client beyond just defending him in a debt collection matter? The entire legal community in the island are sadly the same, afraid to do what their training requires of them. Nay, afraid of even being human beings. An example of this was clearly seen when Chee Soon Juan, the main opposition politician, was sued for defamation, some years ago by the Prime Minister abusing the law once again. Despite diligent efforts, Chee was unable to find a single lawyer there to represent him. As a result Chee had to represent himself. It is as bad as that. <br />
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Unfortunately just as every other fellow Singaporean, lawyers are consumed with fear. Although they know full well, they are prohibited from openly criticizing the state for denying their human rights, they know they has no right to free speech, expression, assembly and that they could be arrested anytime. They know all this is wrong but they simply cannot pick up the courage to speak their mind. <br />
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Singapore lawyers pretend they are actually practicing law and what they see in their courts are actually judges. They dress up in fancy black lawyers garb in a shameless state of hypocrisy when they know these are not courts at all but state institutions to subjugate their subjects. In any other society lawyers would have been up in arms demanding the restoration of Constitutional rights, free speech and expression. Singapore lawyers on the other hand are like a lion in the circus. They has lost their ability to roar. They are caged animals with their dictator holding the whip. And for a lawyer of all people to be like that is indeed a disgrace, but that is what a society like Singapore does to its people.<br />
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You can see why a society such as this where people have to tailor their lives to appease state authority have wasted lives. The purpose of an education is to be able to think and formulate ideas and principles, to promote those ideas for your own good as well as society. Education is supposed to embolden you, not make you a mouse. But when a society is prevented from doing this because it would displease their master, you have a society who are using just half their brain. It is a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde existence. It is a theatrical performance. It is a pantomime. <br />
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Singapore lawyers are incapable of publicly proclaiming that their society is a rotten dictatorship which should be changed. Singapore lawyer is naturally afraid to do this because he knows the moment he is seen as a threat, his masters would claim he has just raped 20 women, or some other preposterous accusation, send him to jail and disbar him. That is what dictatorships do because they can do anything they want, punish anyone anytime. Singapore lawyers only use half their brains to do their mundane work, while incapable of doing anything about the miserable way they live. <br />
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Can you imagine an island with everyone thinking like that. Everyone simply go about their lives, do their work for a living and behave as if nothing was wrong, because even if it was wrong, there is nothing you can do about it. And if you did you are punished. <br />
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Once the state openly proclaim you as a political opponent, from that point every single judge, every single government servant, every single private company, every single private individual is required to deny you a normal life. If you are a lawyer, you will lose every single case, if you are a citizen you would be denied every single request. <br />
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Sadly Singapore lawyers just as the ordinary layman just want to be left alone as far away from the wrath of their rulers so they can go home to their three meals a day and watch their television in peace. It is a truly a wasted life. <br />
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For a lawyer to remain in Singapore and submit to this nonsense of a profession is disgraceful. They should either stand up to the regime, or if this is not possible to leave the island for settlement elsewhere and to hold their heads up high. There is no honor in remaining and submitting to this your entire life. And worst of all pretending you are a lawyer when you are not. You are working under false pretenses. <br />
<br />
Gopalan Nair <br />
Attorney at Law <br />
A Singaporean in Exile <br />
Fremont San Francisco California <br />
Tel: 510 491 8525 <br />
Email: <a href="mailto:nair.gopalan@yahoo.com">nair.gopalan</a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null">@yahoo.com</a><br />
<br />
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<br />Gopalan Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15399145588654603667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8081742307252789733.post-43098956077053719002017-10-15T20:46:00.001-07:002017-10-15T20:46:18.044-07:00It is a pity. Too late for Singapore to ever be a real democracyLadies and Gentlemen, <br />
<br />
I think it may be too late. Singapore may never be a real democracy. And its people may never enjoy the freedoms that one would naturally expect in America or Western Europe. <br />
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First of all we have to agree that democracy is a good thing. I do. It is a system which as far as possible leave people alone to develop your full potential. The state only interferes if you harm others unlike in a dictatorship like Singapore where the state punishes you if you espouse ideas not to their liking. Democracies believe that the engine for change and betterment is the people while in dictatorships like Singapore it is the dictator who decides how you live. <br />
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For a country to be a real democracy, its government must accept that democracy is a good thing and consequently the State should create the necessary institutions to enable it. Take USA as an example. USA from its inception embraced democracy as the best form of government, created a constitution to enable it, and actively ensured that its provisions are obeyed, through the deliberate setting up of civil society, the rule of law, a free press and fundamental human rights. This is the case too in Western Europe, Canada Australia and New Zealand. <br />
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In Singapore on the other hand, since its inception more than 50 years ago, the government has deliberately and progressively sustained its policy of denying a free society. The rule of law is maligned with corrupt judges beholden to the government and used as tool to silence dissent, the papers are state controlled and have become an instrument of state propaganda, all freedoms are denied and anyone criticizing openly is liable to arrest and imprisonment. Although Singapore derived its political system from England, it deliberately suppressed any part of it that relates to democracy. <br />
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Under such circumstances unless the people are themselves aware of the need for democracy and are willing to stand up to this dictatorial government, there is no way that the system will ever change, mainly because people in a place such as Singapore, over years of behavior training by the government, are not even aware of what democracy means. And if they don't know what democracy is, how does anyone expect the people to fight for it or the society to become democratic? <br />
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Those who did not wish to live in a society like this Singaporean dictatorship have mostly left the island for settlement in the West. I too did not want to be a "digit" under Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore, as he once called the ordinary Singaporean. So I left. As a result over the years, the island has been depleted of people who know what it is to live in freedom. The education system in the island makes sure that students are never taught anything of Constitutional law or democracy. As a result they go through an entire school life not knowing anything about democracy, a topic which is almost taboo. In order to replenish those who have left the island seeking freedom, Singapore government continues to bring in large numbers of immigrants and offer them instant citizenship. Their main source for the immigration as expected is Communist China since the government knows that these Chinese from Communist China don't have a clue as to what freedom is, and would be quite content to live without any rights in Singapore, as they did in Communist China. <br />
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Unfortunately this does not prevent many immigrants from other countries such as Australians or some Europeans of coming to Singapore to work which they do just for a living. By and large these immigrants who don't really consider Singapore home would be willing to work anywhere regardless of the political system, since all they want is a job temporarily. As soon as they manage to get a job back home, they leave, as do the thousands of workers who work in Dubai. <br />
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Therefore as time progresses , with more and more people with any idea of democracy leaving and those left behind are totally unaware of freedom while supplemented with hoards of Chinese nationals quite happy to live under any dictator, I think it a little too late for the island to ever be free. <br />
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My observation of the ordinary man is that he does not necessarily have any desire for such imaginary concepts as freedom. Most people usually just want a job and be able to live a comfortable life and be left alone. This is why until and unless the state appreciates that democracy is a good thing and actively works to towards creating a free society, there is no real hope that people would ever know what it is to be free. For instance you cannot expect Syria, Egypt the Congo and all the hundreds of countries around the world to have true freedom if the basics for it, unless created and championed by their rulers, do not exist. <br />
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One will clearly see why an American thinks very differently from a man from Singapore. Its because he is taught and is aware that he has a right to the rule of law, freedom of speech expression and assembly. Which is why an American would be outraged and aghast if you told him that judges would use their office to eliminate opponents of the ruling party like they do in Singapore; or if they were told that they have no right to freedom of expression as is the case in Singapore. On the other hand in Singapore the government routinely uses their judges to abuse their judicial office to eliminate political opponents but yet most Singaporeans have no complaints whatsoever to this abuse going on. Neither does the average Singaporean complain about the fact that he has no rights at all. <br />
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In the end, it is the state itself that has to take the effort to promote democracy. If they don't, like what we have in Singapore, it will never be free and its people can never live free and independent lives. They will always be at the mercy of the Lee family and their dictatorship. You are creating in Singapore a robotic society whose only goal in life to be able to work and go about their own business with the blessing of the all embracing ever watchful Big Brother. <br />
<br />
Gopalan Nair <br />
Attorney at Law <br />
A Singaporean in Exile <br />
Fremont San Francisco California USA<br />
Tel: 510 491 8525 <br />
Email: <a href="mailto:nair.gopalan@yahoo.com">nair</a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null">.gopalan@yahoo.com</a>Gopalan Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15399145588654603667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8081742307252789733.post-67780554916600915532017-09-30T23:33:00.003-07:002017-10-01T00:25:27.660-07:00Singapore citizens always fail in any other country. Their minds have been destroyed by the Stalinist political systemLadies and Gentlemen, <br />
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Except for my childhood and about 10 years as a lawyer in the island, I have spent a great part of my life abroad, 7 years in Europe and 26 years now in California USA. I can clearly see the damage that life in Singapore does to your brain. I have also seen a few Singaporeans here and previously in Europe. I can say without hesitation that a Singaporean either in Europe or America is a disappointment. He is a bore. The only things that interests him is perhaps talking about the price of houses and where to eat at which restaurant. Since most Singaporeans who have left the island are ethnic Chinese, they invariably appear pale, effete and weak both physically mind and spirit. You will never see a Singaporean scaling El Capitan or sailing the world. Only Americans and Europeans do that. And he is afraid to speak because he does not want the Singapore rulers to take offense. In other words he has no opinion because he is a bore. <br />
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Once again let me tell you this. It took me a long time before it dawned on me as to why these Singaporeans are so different, so uninteresting, so bereft of any daring or courage compared to Englishmen or Europeans. Their total lack of spontaneity. Their total lack of a spark in the eye. Talking to them is like getting information from an old 1980 computer; you feed in the question and there is a delay before your answer is processed. <br />
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Why are Singaporeans this way? With a little bit of thought the answer would be very clear. It is the stifling political system which prevents a human being from being who you are. In Singapore island, the island wide security apparatus includes island wide surveillance, not dissimilar to North Korea. Success in that island depends on your pleasing your masters, just as you would please Kim Jong Un, showing unwavering support to the ruling party and their government and in this manner one climbs the ladder to financial and political success. <br />
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But Hey wait a minute. Is it not hard to show loyalty and support to a government which denies you the right to free speech and expression, which denies you the right to free and independent newspapers, which has no rule of law but rule by telephone by which I mean the judge before passing judgment waits for the Prime Minister to tell him how long the sentence should be?<br />
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For example common sense should tell you that there should be nothing wrong for you to peacefully stand alone and hold up a placard with the words "Down Down Prime Minister". No one is harmed. No one is hurt. The island doesn't collapse as a result. But not in Singapore. In that island common sense is upside down. Even if you think there is nothing wrong for the peaceful protester, you have to deliberately make yourself believe that it is wrong and not do it. If you do you are punished. <br />
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For any lawyer to tell the court that he believes the judge is corrupt and a Kangaroo would mean a contempt charge and you would be thrown in jail, even though you, the judge himself and everyone else knows it is perfectly true! In other words the Singapore's rulers have a right to appoint corrupt judges to punish political opponents and you simply have to accept it. <br />
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What happens over time when you live in such a state is this. You slowly begin to realize the hopelessness of your situation. You realize that there is nothing you can do. Whether you like it or not you simply have to submit. You simply have to crawl. You have to resign yourself to your fate and the life that this dictatorship has decided for you. <br />
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Having resigned yourself to this state of hopelessness, the vast majority who either have no means to leave the island or are opportunists, feel that the best policy is "In Rome do as the Romans do". If success in the island depends on your unwavering support for the dictatorship, then why not give it and reap the rewards. The thinking is just the same as what a Russian would have thought under the Soviet Union. If it is profitable to sing praises to Stalin, never mind he is a mass murderer, then why not do it and profit by it. <br />
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So in Singapore today you have an entire citizenry who are daily looking at ways to please the rulers, i.e. the Lee Family and their ruling party. The smart guy in the island is the thoroughly obedient submissive loyal supporter of the establishment. He is a member of the Peoples Association, the branch of the government which you are invited to join, run around doing errands for the government members of parliament and after sufficient crawling and licking their boots, you will be rewarded. In order to accomplish this, you have to engage in some mental gymnastics. Even though you hate the way you have to live, you should publicly declare it is paradise. Even though you have no respect these government appointment lapdog judges, you have to say the island has the best legal system in the world. Even though you have no right to freedom of speech, you have to say that freedom of speech is a very bad thing. And so on and so forth. <br />
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On the other hand, in Alice in Wonderland Singapore, the one who has the courage to stand up against this Stalinist government is considered a fool, who does not know which side the bread is buttered! In any other country, he would a hero. <br />
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And can you imagine someone who has lived a life such as this suddenly coming to America! All he knows is to simply obey like a Labrador Retriever. The problem is this. In Singapore it is good for you to be a Labrador Retriever. But American society has no respect for such people. In any organization, people who have independent minds and opinions are appreciated. And in America people have common sense which is why if you told an American that is a criminal offense to hold up a sign peacefully, he will send you to the mental asylum.<br />
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In America and Europe, everyone has the right think and speak openly. And this is why when people think of new ideas and changes, they have a chance to get it implemented thereby improving their own lives as well as society. Free societies always change because everyone is always thinking of new and better ideas. Sometimes it is wrong and the country regresses. But then they realize it, correct their mistakes and move forward. Change is always good for society because change means progress. <br />
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In Singapore island you can have no change at all through the people. If there is going to be change it is because the rulers have decided it. As for you, you have to just sit back and wait for the next orders. In the end, the Singaporean is a boring dummy. And that is why Singaporeans never succeed abroad in the free world. It's because if an American is faced with something really stupid like don't stand on a street protesting, he would instantly ask why not. Whereas a Singaporean brought up under the obedience regime of Singapore would not even imagine of questioning the rule. And if you come to America and live your life simply obeying authority, you will not only fail in life, you will be a bore and no one would want to be with you. <br />
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Which is why an English boy, an American boy or an Australian boy is far more smarter intelligent and interesting than a Singaporean raised under this Stalinist one party police state. <br />
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I am a very lucky man to have got out of Singapore before my mind was permanently damaged living under such a regime. And that is why I am passing this message to you. <br />
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<em>Please spread this message as widely as possible in social media sites. Thank you</em> <br />
<br />
Gopalan Nair <br />
Attorney at Law <br />
A Singaporean in Exile <br />
Fremont San Francisco USA<br />
Tel: 510 491 8525 <br />
Email: <a href="mailto:nair.gopalan@yahoo.com">nair.gopalan</a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null">@yahoo.com</a>Gopalan Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15399145588654603667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8081742307252789733.post-72032249846182082762017-09-16T00:44:00.000-07:002017-09-30T22:36:21.789-07:00The worst thing that happens to you in Singapore is the destruction of your mindLadies and Gentlemen, <br />
<br />
Singapore is a one party dictatorship run formerly by Lee Kuan Yew since his inception and now by his son Lee Hsien Loong of the Lee Family's political party the Peoples Action Party. <br />
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There can be no denial that it is a complete dictatorship run today by the Lee family's Lee Hsien Loong. Every organ of state and everyone is controlled by Lee Hsien Loong and the Peoples Action Party. The party controls the courts and all judges are Kangaroos who willingly punish and destroy political opponents. All newspapers are state owned and put out propaganda on a daily basis. Every head of any government department, every police office every soldier and everyone is required to toe the government line. If anyone openly challenges the state apparatus, they face, like in the former Soviet Union, trumped up charges and removed from their positions or jobs. Dissidents and political opponents are shamed and defamed in the state controlled newspapers. Thousands of moles are deployed all over the island to spy on you and ferret out the detractors to be punished. In Singapore, just as in the former Soviet Union or Nazi Germany no one who is critical of the government can succeed or even exist in the island. <br />
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This reason for this total subjugation and obedience required of the citizenry is 2 fold. Firstly the Singapore rulers have no intention of relinquishing power. Lee Kuan Yew's son is determined to rule and the only way to make sure of this is to destroy all political opponents. Stalin did this too. They justify it by claiming that only they are best qualified to rule and therefore it is in the interests of the state to punish any critic, naturally a very convenient argument from their viewpoint. <br />
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Secondly they argue that as Singapore is a small tiny island without natural resources, the only way to provide jobs is to attract foreign investment. And since foreign investors prefer dictatorships where the citizens workers have no rights, the subjugation, denial of human rights and repression is actually in their own best interests, a very spurious argument indeed. In other words, not having any human rights is actually in your best interests, is what their preposterous argument is!<br />
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The sad truth is that all this denial of human rights and submission of political critics is exactly what foreign investors want. Because they have no rights, a foreign company intending to set up a sweat shop assembly line would find Singapore most attractive; you can ill treat the workers as much as you want and get away with it in maximizing your profits. <br />
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Until and unless Singaporeans themselves stand up and demand their rights, this sad state of affairs would continue in the island, fueled by foreign industrialists taking advantage of the helpless powerless and weak Singaporean work force. <br />
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As you know in Singapore the citizen has no rights at all. The trade unions are all controlled by the employers and the state, the worker has no rights. There is no rule of law which means the police can pick you up anyone anytime on trumped up charges and finish you off. There is no free speech or expression as it is illegal to speak publicly against the state under Singapore law. There is no right of peaceful assembly under Singapore law. All these repressive measures are designed to stop any open rebellion against the government to entrench their rule forever. <br />
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What is most damaging is the result of such government actions on the minds of their people. Because you to always be careful when you speak or to whom you speak, you become some sort of a hypocrite. You are no longer capable of thinking normally. In Singapore you are at all times required to lead a double life. The government is aware that privately a great many people hate the system, they are content to leave you alone as long as you don't make your opinions public. So in public, people are always claiming the government is right, however ridiculous you may think their argument is. In fact they themselves know how ridiculous they sound but they say it anyway. For instance since the government line is that even the smallest peaceful demonstration is dangerous and therefore illegal, this is what the average person repeats. You will not hear anyone arguing that such a law is unjust even though it is obvious to anyone it is. <br />
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You will not hear anyone saying that there should be a free press because the government line is that a free press will result in fake news and therefore free press is bad and only state news agencies are true. You will not hear anyone in the island questioning the arbitrary manner in which Singapore police arrest and detain people since the government argument is that Singapore police are good people and would do only right and therefore they should not be questioned. <br />
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Numerous political dissidents have been arrested charged with imaginary crimes and put away. the government claims that all these people are criminals and even though it is clearly evident that they are innocent, their only fault being to challenge the government, nevertheless the judges are still right, they are not corrupt and these political detractors deserve what they got. <br />
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Take the law and lawyers. Every single lawyer knows that every single judge in Singapore is corrupt and is a tool of the state to punish critics. But not one lawyer would dare to openly say so or do anything about it. In fact they go about their daily work as if Singapore had the best legal system in the world. And in a system where every single judge is corrupt and misuses his office to please Lee Kuan Yew's son and their henchmen, not a single lawyer would openly dare to say so for fear of losing their livelihoods and impoverished. Although the lawyers know these judges are corrupt and a criminal with any indication of open political unhappiness has no chance in the world before these judges, yet they make no demand for jury trials as the jury system has been abolished so as to make sure that the Lee government can make sure of court verdicts. <br />
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As a result of having to live this way in fear and submission, you can see how the people's minds are completely destroyed. The normal human behavior is to say what you think. But living in Singapore under this dictatorship over the years makes your thought process skewed. You can no longer be a rational normal logical person. Even though you hate the establishment, you have to say they are good. You have to be one person in public and another in private 24 hours a day. <br />
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If you go to Singapore today you would not be able to find a person to openly tell you what he thinks. Quite often if you confront him with these questions, he politely slides away by one excuse or another. He understands that the way to survive in the island is to keep your mouth shut and mind your own business. Then there are others who are the most disgraceful. These are the ones who hate the system like everyone else, but in order to advance in their careers, they have to join the state ruling party's official organ for such purposes, the Peoples Association. The hope and idea is that if you join and participate in the Peoples Association long enough, the establishment would be pleased and reward you, either by money, by career advancement or by inviting you to join the government. This lot is the most disgusting. They are literally hypocrites and not ashamed of it. They will run around under the establishment coat tails because it is profitable. It does not matter if the people have no rights, it does not matter if the workers are exploited, it does not matter if innocent honest civic minded citizens are put away by Kangaroo courts. All that matters is for them to advance and to do so, it requires them to ingratiate towards the rulers. <br />
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You can imagine why these people are therefore the least productive in the world. If you are incapable of doing what you think is right, or speaking your mind, and thinking of new ideas to improve your occupation or profession but instead are only concerned of looking good before your masters, no change can come from you and no good can come from you. You are effectively only capable of following. You are incapable of thinking for yourself and acting on your personal beliefs and ideas. <br />
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This sort of society holds the island back. No change can possibly come from the people. Any change has to come from the rulers because only they are allowed to think for themselves. Big Brother will decide for you. Your job is only obedience. <br />
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I suppose after your mind is completely destroyed in this manner, it is possible that you may not even notice it if you live there. But if you happen to move to a Western country, you will feel completely at a loss. No American or Western employer will want to have anything to do with you because instead of doing what is right, you will be spending your entire time trying to score points with your boss. A Western employer is not looking for Labrador retriever, he is looking for an independent thinking worker who will do what is best for his job, even if it means telling the boss off. <br />
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I have repeatedly advised Singaporean parents to emigrate to the west with their children. It is bad enough if the parents themselves have been turned into zombies by the state apparatus, you don't want to punish your children to the same fate. In the US and the West, independent thinking is encouraged. It is a crucial asset to advance in your life and career. It develops your ability to think openly and independently. It enables you to know that you need not grovel before anyone for your future. It teaches you that there is nothing wrong in individual opinion and the ability to realize it. <br />
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I strongly advise Singapore parents to move to the west as soon as possible. If you delay too long it may be too late and your children's minds would be irreparably permanently damaged. <br />
<br />
Gopalan Nair <br />
Attorney at Law <br />
A Singaporean in Exile <br />
Fremont San Francisco USA<br />
Tel 510 491 8525 <br />
Email: <a href="mailto:nair.gopalan@yahoo.com">nair</a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null">.gopalan@yahoo.</a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null">com</a>Gopalan Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15399145588654603667noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8081742307252789733.post-24449658480213621952017-09-10T22:30:00.000-07:002017-09-10T22:30:49.723-07:00Nazi Germany and Singapore. Striking similarities Ladies and Gentlemen,<br />
<br />
From 1933 to the beginning of the Second World War, Hitler's Nazi Germany was the most powerful country in Europe. From the ashes of the First World War it built itself into a powerful military machine and the most successful economy in Europe under Adolf Hitler. Minus the executions and mass murders, the way Nazi Germany rose to power has striking similarities to the late Singaporean dictator Lee Kuan Yew and now his son who has stepped into his shoes. <br />
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<u>BREAD AND WORK</u> <br />
Hitler's promise to the masses in Germany's poor was his promise of bread and work. This was a powerful message that created mass support for his movement. Lee Kuan Yew too in the 1950s promised food and work. They both managed to do that. <br />
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<u>FASCISM </u><br />
Hitler learnt from Benito Mussolini the governance through Fascism. The idea was for the state to control every organ of power in the land. They control the press, controls trade unions or better still abolish them, control TV and Radio, deny free speech and assembly, kill anyone who dares to criticize you, conduct show trials with Kangaroo judges to punish dissidents, destroy the weak minded or biologically or genetically inferior peoples, use propaganda to promote your achievements. This is what Nazi Germany did to rise to power. <br />
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And this is exactly what Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore under his son's control does. In Singapore anyone who publicly criticizes the ruling government is destroyed. JB Jeyaretnam who for years dared to challenge the government was repeatedly persecuted in Kangaroo courts in show trials and accused of all sorts of trumped up charges, removed from office, bankrupted and impoverished and destroyed. The same fate suffered by another prominent opposition politician who similarly dared to criticize, brought before Kangaroo courts in show trials, vilified and defamed, thrown out of his job, jailed and bankrupted into poverty. <br />
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Countless others too numerous to mention suffered the same fate. <br />
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I too suffered. From 1984 to 1991 I was in Singapore engaged in opposition politics. Repeatedly harassed, repeatedly charged with trumped up false charges, brought before show trials with Kangaroo judges, defamed and impoverished. Instead of continuing to allow them to abuse me, I left the country permanently in 1991 for California USA where I am now a citizen. <br />
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<u>THE EFFECT OF THESE SHOW TRIALS AND PERSECUTION OF OPPONENTS</u> <br />
The purpose of these show trials to shame and punish political opponents is for a purpose much more important. It is to silence and intimidate every other citizen into submission. The intent is to instill fear and forcing them to accept the authority of Adolf Hitler and Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew and his son today. This is the most important purpose of these show trials that are routinely conducted in Singapore island today. <br />
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Under Hitler's Germany, the people were aware of the brutality and injustice of the Nazi Government. But they were powerless to resist because if you do you will be killed. It is the same in Singapore of today. Singaporeans are fully aware that they are living under a dictatorship where they have no rights at all, totally under the mercy of these Kangaroo courts controlled by Lee Kuan Yew's sons and his Peoples Action Party. But they are powerless to resist because if they do, they fear they will suffer the dire fate of other political dissidents of the past such as JB Jeyaretnam and Chee Soon Juan. As a result they fear to stand up to their government. <br />
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<u>UNDERSTANDING THE PRIORITIES</u><br />
Both Hitler and Lee Kuan Yew knew that the priorities of both the Germans of 1933 and Singaporeans of the 1950s was work and food. Human rights and such niceties did not appear high in their list of desirables. So Hitler burnt books on democracy and other social theories. The people should just concentrate on work and making a living, not philosophizing. Lee Kuan Yew did the same. Singapore university no longer teaches subjects like philosophy or democracy or if they still do, it is placed in book shelves you will not find. The point was for the Singaporean to go home to watch his television and eat at the hawkers center and leave such things as politics to Lee Kuan Yew's friends and not go around minding other peoples business. <br />
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I have to say this policy has worked. Today it is impossible for you to speak to any Singaporean who has any concern about the way he lives. He has no idea of any of that. His mind has been successfully adjusted by long years of behavior training to concentrate only on his job, food and daily pleasures. The thinking man does not exist in Singapore as he did not exist in Nazi Germany. <br />
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<u>MASS EMIGRATION AND EXODUS </u><br />
Many Germans knew what Hitler was doing to his people. As a result large numbers of the best scientists and academics and professionals, many of them Jews as well as ethnic Germans left Germany, many to the US. As a result Hitler lost a large portion of his highly educated citizens. However many Germans stayed despite knowing Hitler's repression. It is the same situation today in Singapore. Thousands of highly educated Singaporeans disgusted with what Lee Kuan Yew's son is doing to Singapore have emigrated to the West, although many still have decided to stay. <br />
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The exodus from tiny Singapore of it's educated is so large and especially crippling for a tiny island like Singapore. There is not a single major western country where you will not find the Singapore diaspora. London, New York San Francisco (where I live), Sydney Melbourne, Frankfurt Brussels Vancouver Toronto Auckland and every major city has a growing Singapore population. Germany could handle it because they are a much larger country. For a depletion of it's population from tiny Singapore at this rate has to be a catastrophe. <br />
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<u>LACK OF ALTERNATIVE VIEWPOINTS</u> <br />
In Germany the only political view point was the National Socialist Party of Hitler. That was the only political party or philosophy allowed. In Singapore it is the PAP. No other party is really allowed. It is not that other parties do not officially exist, they do. But they are nothing. No one dares to join them, say anything openly and they are other than at election time, comprised of only one member, it's founder. There are no other members. <br />
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In Hitler's Germany they were more honest instead of the hypocrisy you find in Singapore. In Hitler's Germany other political parties were not allowed. If you did, you will be shot. <br />
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<u>NO NEED FOR ANY HUMAN RIGHTS</u> <br />
Adolf Hitler did not see any need for any human rights. After all he will take care of you. Why should you have any rights. Therefore a German under Nazi Germany did not have a free press. You read only what was published by the German state newspapers under propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. You are not allowed to demonstrate in public or speak ill of Adolf Hitler, since according to Hitler, he was such a nice man and how could possibly anyone have anything to complain! In any case if you demonstrated you will either be shot, deported or sent to concentration camp. <br />
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In Singapore too there are no human rights, no right to free speech, expression and assembly. The reasoning I assume is the same as Hitler. Since Lee Kuan Yew's son is only going to do good for you, why in Heaven's should you have any reason to complain. The reasoning is, that after all he will provide housing in the state owned Housing agency the HDB. He will provide jobs by attracting foreigners to set up factories in the island. He will build roads, infra structure, make sure you have access to daily needs. Then why the need to protest and criticize? That is why the PAP government of Singapore does not allow any human rights in the island. <br />
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<u>WORKERS HAVE NO RIGHTS</u><br />
Hitler abolished trade unions because the leaders of industry wanted a free reign on workers. As a result industry succeeded and Nazi Germany began to produce an immense amount of goods for the rest of Europe becoming the richest economy in Europe. Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore today is no different. Singapore workers have no rights and their unions are powerless. The plan is to make manufacturing in Singapore so attractive to foreigners. When workers are powerless, surely it is very very attractive to foreign businesses. This way businesses set up in Singapore at sweat shop wages while workers are unable to make ends meet. The only ones who profit are the Lee family and their friends and foreign businesses. The locals have to struggle to survive and there is nothing they can do. <br />
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<u>THE SILVER LINING</u> <br />
This sort of abuse simply cannot last. If it lasted in 1933 Europe it was because Nazi Germany did not have Internet. Singapore has. What this means is that Singaporeans today do not have to accept this nonsense. Which is why the mass emigration brain drain is so large from tiny Singapore, they are desperately short of workers to man their businesses. Because of the bad reputation they have the only ones who would tolerate coming to Singapore to work are Chinese Communists from Communist China. But these are hardly qualified workers because they do not speak any English. So with fewer and fewer qualified workers and locals becoming increasing disgruntled and unhappy, you have not only a dwindling work force but an unhappy and unproductive one at that. <br />
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As long as the Singapore government is determined to be a carbon copy of Nazi Germany, it is bound to fail as Hitler did, although for different reasons. <br />
<br />
Gopalan Nair <br />
Attorney at Law <br />
A Singaporean in exile <br />
Fremont San Francisco California USA<br />
Tel: 510 491 8525<br />
Email: <a href="mailto:nair.gopalan@yahoo.com">nair.gopalan</a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null">@yahoo.com</a>Gopalan Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15399145588654603667noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8081742307252789733.post-3164970937863375992017-09-07T00:29:00.000-07:002017-09-10T20:50:03.643-07:00Singapore's Stalinist one party state government holds the island back Ladies and Gentlemen,<br />
<br />
It is Singapore's internationally well known bad reputation, as an authoritarian Stalinist one party island state that is what is holding its progress back. The latest reports state a growing number of local citizens leaving the island for settlement in Western democracies. This would be bad enough for any country, but for an already tiny island with a tiny local population, as the human deluge continues, the Singaporean would soon become extinct in the Singapore! <br />
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At the same time, the island has the world's lowest birth rate. For an already tiny population, this means literally extinction of the Singaporean race. <br />
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In that already tiny population, the aging component is very large. In fact more than 30% or so are above 60s and soon they will all die. <br />
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With massive outward emigration, lowest birth rate in the world and an aging population in an already tiny island, question is, is Singapore going to last very long? <br />
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The state apparatus have tried hard over decades to persuade Singaporeans not to leave and to have more children but they have totally failed. They have tried tax incentive, large cash gifts and even career promotions all to noting. Why do Singaporeans hate their own country so much as to refuse to have any children and dying to flee from it? <br />
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The way they do it as was the style in the former Soviet Union. Stalin murdered anyone who disagreed with him leaving only compliant bootlickers. In Singapore they don't kill dissidents but they make sure that you are punished for life. In Soviet Union they used to have show trials where dissidents are put on trial made to confess and then shot. In Singapore although they don't shoot you, the purpose is the same. They arrest dissidents, have show trials before kangaroo judges, disgraced and vilified and then cast away. These dissidents served a purpose in soviet Union to frighten everyone into toeing the line. The same purpose is achieved in Singapore. Men such as JB Jeyaretnam are charged in trumped up charges, abused and vilified before the courts and then impoverished and cast away. The purpose is not only to punish JB Jeyaretnam but more importantly, just as in the Soviet Union, to threaten everyone else to obey without question. <br />
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Although the Soviet Union got away with it for many years, Lee Kuan Yew and his descendants are stupid to think that it will work in this day and age in an island like Singapore. Under Stalin, his dissidents have nowhere to go. They could not leave the Soviet Union. They either get in line or perish. But this style is useless in Singapore in the 21st century in the Internet age. If you make life miserable for people, they will leave. And not just that, the very best people would leave since they are the ones with the qualifications that the West needs. <br />
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Let me give you my personal example. From around the mid eighties to 1991, while I was practicing law in Singapore and agitating for democracy, the state began a series of criminal charges, professional misconduct charges and other means against me, obviously to silence me. And their style was just as it was in the Soviet Union, publicly claiming in the state controlled press that I was a criminal, prominently displaying my picture in all the state controlled newspapers as an evil person, putting me before their Kangaroo judges in show trials and convict fine and jail me. The hope of course was that I would stop agitating, realize that it is useless, and stop being a thorn on their side. That is what happened in the Soviet Union and that is what normally happens in Singapore island. <br />
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After all people of Singapore are not stupid. They can see that I am no criminal. They can see that my only fault is my refusal to submit to their dictatorship. So eventually not wanting to allow them to abuse me for the rest of my life, I just left for the US and obtained asylum. I personally know that after I left, there was a massive surge of highly educated Singaporeans leaving the island. And since then the emigration rate has surged to higher and higher levels. So if they thought that by abusing my rights, they could benefit, it has turned out the opposite. By thinking that you can go around bullying people, you hurt yourself more than anyone. As can be seen with the massive numbers leaving the island today which is literally destroying the island about which there is nothing they can do. <br />
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And even from San Francisco I continue to expose this regime. In the Soviet times, if you are a critic, regardless of whether you are in the country or outside you will be murdered. We have seen Stalin going after his opponents like Trotsky in Mexico for instance. Bulgarian secret agents had murdered a dissident walking along London bridge not too long ago. More recently Putin has murdered his opponents in London. As for Singapore, although they are prepared to use trumped up charges to destroy you within their island, they are not prepared to kill you overseas. I have been living in United States for the past 25 years but so far no Singapore agent has ever tried to kill me. <br />
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You can see the foolishness of their methods. Within Singapore, they use every dirty trick to destroy anyone who is against them. But if you leave, they do nothing. And this fact which is known to all works as an engine to persuade even more Singaporeans to leave the island. <br />
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The Singapore model is basically a Stalinist economy. The Soviet Union under Marxist philosophy tried very hard to mould their citizens into believing that the State was everything. The only way to be a model citizen was to obey and serve the state. And those who thought otherwise had no place in that country. It is just the same today in Singapore. The Singapore government has no need for thinkers and philosophers with ideas to better the way they live. What they want is for people to unconditionally accept that the state is right, the sate will create jobs and in obedience you will be forever happy. This was the model Singapore citizen that they want. <br />
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The main goal of Singapore is tow fold. Firstly to make Singapore the most attractive place in the world for foreign businesses. And the way to make it most attractive is to deny workers rights, allow the employers to pay you any pittance they want, and a workforce that have no rights whatsoever in total obedience. In this manner, Singapore's Lee family who rule the country hope that more foreign businesses would continue to come to Singapore, provide more employment to Singaporeans so that the economy will progress to enable the Lee family and their friends to continue in power and continue raking their corrupt millions. <br />
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This as you can see is a very selfish goal. They are not interested in nurturing independent thinkers who might be able to create change for the better and progressively advance with the constant clash of new ideas and policies. All they want is to continue their present system of silencing their citizens so that it continues a paradise for foreign businesses in Singapore. And most importantly, they want no change. <br />
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What they are saying is that they know best. They would plan. They would attract new foreign businesses. As for you, just keep quiet and do your work, that's all. <br />
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For any educated person such a life becomes distasteful very soon. Why shouldn't I have my own ideas about Singapore, why should<em> </em>not be allowed<em> </em>to speak openly without fear of arrest and victimization? Why cant I live the way any Australian New Zealander or American lives. Why should I have to listen to the boredom of the state everyday? <br />
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The government does not realize that the most important thing for an island such as this to progress is a good reputation. Singapore unfortunately has a very bad reputation. Which is one reason why everyone wants to leave. Everyone knows that it has no rule of law, the courts are an instrument of oppression presided over by corrupt Kangaroo judges, it has harsh criminal system where people are hanged in massive numbers, beaten to the bone in a punishment called caning. It has no right to free speech or expression and it has a defamation regime where Kangaroo courts jail and impoverish you for criticism of the Lee family rulers. <br />
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As they continue in this disgusting manner the island would soon be devoid of any locals. What they would have are the recently imported Chinese nationals from China who are brought in to make up the numbers for those leaving. If you look at the figures, you would know that there is no massive outward migration from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, or any Western European country as it is in Singapore. The question is why and the answer is simple. The British are proud of Britain, the Australians are proud of Australia. They have proud state institutions and a robust rule of law. They have no desire to leave. While the ordinary Singapore lives in fear of his rulers and hate the way they have to live. That is why they leave and will continue to leave. <br />
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And unless they kill me in California, I will continue to write these pages which will persuade even one more Singaporean to leave the island and condemn it for the rest of his life. I am not going anywhere. I am still in San Francisco and so will this blog Singapore Dissident. I think it is my defiance that angers these petty small time thugs in Singapore the most. <br />
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<em>If you like what I write please continue to publish this post on all and every social media possible. Although the Singapore opposition may not be able to achieve an instant revolution, slowly and steadily by attrition we are seeing the collapse of this Lee family Singapore regime. Just as tomorrow 5 more families will leave to be replaced by 5 more from Communist China. </em><br />
<br />
Gopalan Nair <br />
A Singaporean in Exile <br />
Attorney at law <br />
Fremont San Francisco California <br />
Tel: 510 491 8525 <br />
Email: <a href="mailto:nair.gopalan@yahoo.com">nair.gopalan</a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null">@yahoo.com</a>
Gopalan Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15399145588654603667noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8081742307252789733.post-88181652450429168462017-09-03T18:55:00.000-07:002017-09-03T19:42:23.746-07:00Gopalan Nair's advice to Singaporeans from San Francisco California, leave Singapore for your sake and your children's sake <br />
Ladies and Gentlemen,<br />
<br />
Singapore's state controlled propaganda newspaper, <em>Channel News Asia of Sept 2 2017 has the story "Commentary: More Singaporeans going abroad but are no less Singaporean for it" <a href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/commentary-more-singaporeans-going-abroad-but-are-no-less-9134122">http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/commentary-more-singaporeans-going-abroad-but-are-no-less-9134122</a></em>. As expected with state controlled propaganda anywhere, when it is bad news, they usually spin it for a good face. Just as in the former propaganda organs Soviet Union's Pravda and Izvetsia, they used to state that grain production had increased 100 fold when no such thing ever happened. <br />
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In this Singapore report, the only truth is indeed more Singaporeans are leaving the island for settlement abroad. What is not true is that any one of them has any desire to continue their Singapore connection. The vast majority are a one way ticket case, who say good riddance to the Lee family and their island fiefdom. <br />
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In fact since the past 30 years or so, the numbers leaving Singapore have been steadily increasing relative to the increasing education levels in the island. This desire to leave the island is both unstoppable and inevitable and the reasons should be obvious to anyone. Singapore is a dictatorship plain and simple for anyone to see. Although it may be possible to hoodwink some foreigners into thinking otherwise, if you are a Singaporean living in the island, very soon you will begin to see what it really is. And when you realize what it really is, you will begin to have a burning desire to leave the island as quick as possible. <br />
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Let me remind you what the Lee family's Singapore really is. <br />
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The state propaganda apparatus tells you that you have the rule of law. And the Constitution states that it should have rule of law. Nothing can be further from the truth. What you have is Kangaroo courts with compliant judges who will invariably punish and destroy any political opponent on trumped up charges brought by this government. In fact these judges are more politicians than judges who keep the ruling party, the PAP in power, in return for a secure career and handsome wages. These judges are the most unscrupulous characters, the dregs of society who are prepared to prostitute themselves and punish their fellow citizens because it is profitable. They have no morals or character whatsoever. From the island's disgraceful history you can see the list of good men and women who were all destroyed by these political courts, from JB Jeyaretnam to Chee Soon Juan. Singaporeans are fully aware that their courts have gone to the dogs, but they cannot say it openly because if they do, these Kangaroo judges would destroy them. So they smirk and wink in private on the state of their courts but openly put up a straight face. In effect these Singaporeans are hypocrites but in the face the ruination that they face at the hands of this dictatorship, what else can they do? <br />
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And then the Constitution states there should be freedom of speech. But if people are allowed to criticize this government freely, they know that their political grip on power would come to an end. So they amend the Constitution by stating there is freedom of speech only if you get a government permit. But the truth is, even if you applied you will never get it. Therefore in effect there is no freedom of speech at all. This legal amendment is clearly unconstitutional. There is no reason why peaceful speech should be criminalized. Any honest court anywhere in the world would have struck down such a clearly nonsensical provision. Not in Singapore. The judges are perfectly willing to go on with the abuse and willingly declare that freedom of speech is a criminal offense. <br />
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And then you have the prohibition of even peaceful freedom of assembly. Nowhere in the world except perhaps in North Korea is it illegal to peacefully gather in public protest where no harm is occasioned to anyone. But not in Singapore. In Singapore even a perfectly peaceful protest is illegal and these government judges are perfectly happy to say it is so. <br />
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Every organ of state, every government department or institution is run by the cronies and henchmen of the ruling party. If you are foolish enough to publicly state your opposition to the regime, you will never get a job either in state organs or even in the private sector. It you are already working for a state sector, or a government linked private organization, you would be immediately fired. Even if you are working for a private organization, government thugs and goons would require your employers to have you sacked. You have simply no hope of a career or any success in the island if you are an open critic. <br />
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Singaporeans who presently live in the island have realized a long time ago that in order to survive in the island, you have to adopt the attitude of a hypocrite, some sort of a Jekyll and Hyde. Publicly you have to state that the Lee family's government is all good and perfect, and this way you would be able to keep your job. Otherwise you are in for a lot of trouble. I find this a very disgraceful and distasteful way to live. Why should you have to sell your independence and your opinions for a livelihood. Why should I not be able to think what I want, say what I want or act the way I want provided I am not harming anyone else or breaking any law? It is this realization that is forcing hundreds and thousands of Singaporeans to leave the island for settlement aboard. <br />
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And this demand that you submit to the Lee ruling family's wishes, not only ruins your minds, it destroys the minds of your children. Growing up in Lee's Singapore, a child is told that he should keep his mouth shut and not publicly criticize to succeed in his career. And what sort of a life is that? Such a child grows up a coward, a timid soul who is forever tailoring his ideas to whoever is in power. Such a cowardly attitude drummed into their heads over many years, eventually results in a person only capable of following, never leading. Such a malevolent upbringing not only ruins his mind, it also produces and entire society of timid souls. <br />
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Singapore's greatest existential threat today is the dying off of the Singaporean in Singapore island! This might sound a strange statement but it is true. As the average Singaporean is more educated, he begins to see very soon what his island really is. It dawns on him that living and working in Singapore is only for the benefit of the Lee family, not his own. He can live in that island only as long as he is prepared to allow the Lee family's grip on power. If he questions it, he is finished. He begins to realize that this is a disgusting way to live and wants no part of it. He does not want his son or daughter to grow up a brain washed zombie to please the Lee family. So at the first opportunity he leaves. And that is what you see today, the massive outward flow of Singaporeans for settlement to the West. <br />
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I have been living in the San Francisco bay area, California USA for the past 26 years. I cannot be a happier man anywhere else. Here in California my success depends entirely on my own ability. If I have ideas and they are viable, there is no reason why I cannot make a success of it. There is no need for me here to support any political party or receive the patronage of anyone. There is no need for me to grovel at the feet of any Lee family member or crony. I have my rights to be who I am and there is no need to lick anyone's boots. Not so in Singapore island under the Lee family government. <br />
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Singapore is a good place only for those who do not care much for their right to self determination, self respect or their right to be free. While the local educated and skilled Singaporean disgusted at the way they have to live, leave the island, the Singaporean component of the island is greatly reduced. From an already tiny number, the numbers drop precipitously. Today although there are no specific numbers, many people widely believe that there are more Singaporeans living abroad than in Singapore island. You have vast numbers of Singaporeans in every Western country in the world, in Canada, Australia, United States, New Zealand, Germany and almost every other country in the world. And almost to last man, every single person who has left has cut his connection to the island permanently. This is because, after coming to the West, the Singaporean realizes how much better life is here. For once he can be completely free. He can say what he wants, do what he wants and pursue his career without having to worry whether the Lee family is pleased. Singapore children in the West can have the best education in the world, an education where you are able to think freely and not a society where you are constantly monitored and surveilled to ensure that you are still support the Lee family.<br />
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And the ones who have left become a catalyst to draw even more Singaporeans to the West. After realizing how much better life is in the West, he persuades his brothers and sisters and friends to join him in the West. This results in a multiplier effect several times over, with just one Singaporean in the West resulting in 10 more Singaporeans to leave the island. <br />
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Singapore only continues to survive today only by the massive importation of foreigners. Foreigners bring in new businesses, and foreign labor work in these businesses. For foreign businesses Singapore continues to be a paradise. Foreign businessmen in Singapore do not care whether the island has any human rights whatsoever. All they are concerned is to make as much money as they can while they temporarily do business in the island. In order to run their businesses they use the dwindling number of unskilled and uneducated Singaporeans. Additionally they use massive numbers of foreign workers who work at sweat shop wages. This sort of exploitation of the workers is encouraged by the Lee family government and their cronies who profit from it. Singapore has become another Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Saudi Arabia where massive numbers of low cost immigrant labor serve to benefit the tiny ruling class and their cronies. The only ones who benefit in Singapore are the Lee ruling family, their relatives and friends in high places and the opportunists who devoid of all moral character, lick the boots of those in high places. In addition foreign businessmen make money for their foreign businesses paying low wages to exploited locals and foreign workers. <br />
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The Lee family government is already hurting badly. The lack of Singaporean men has meant that national service is not having sufficient numbers for military service. Barracks are becoming empty and the falling numbers has meant a danger to national security. Elementary schools are being closed due to the falling numbers attending. To make matters worse, the island has the lowest birth rate in the world and even without massive emigration, the almost zero birth rate would effectively destroy the Singaporean identity. To make up the numbers, the government has had no choice but to import massive numbers of Chinese nationals from Communist China with an immediate grant of Singapore citizenship. They prefer to bring in Peoples Republic of China nationals since looking at them, one would not know if they were Singaporeans or other people, since being ethnic Chinese, they look alike. As a result of this, Singapore has lost it's Singaporean identity. What you see today in the island is a Peoples Republic of China city in Singapore with the culture, norms and behaviors of citizens of the peoples Republic of China. The numbers of Malays whose island it originally was and the Indian population have become so small, they are almost non existent. As the Lee family are ethnic Chinese, they have shown that they prefer ethnic Chinese to anyone else. <br />
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Anyone with any ability to think independently and have a mind of his own is going to be miserable. That is why, if you can, you should leave in even greater numbers. <br />
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<em>To the reader: If you like what I write, please disseminate widely in every social media platform so that as many people would read this and leave the island in even greater numbers.</em> <br />
<br />
Gopalan Nair <br />
Attorney at Law <br />
Fremont San Francisco California USA<br />
Tel: 510 491 8525 <br />
Email: <a href="mailto:nair.gopalan@yahoo.com">nair.gopalan</a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null">@yahoo.com</a>Gopalan Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15399145588654603667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8081742307252789733.post-2362737501538245652017-08-24T22:19:00.001-07:002017-08-26T22:29:22.524-07:00Singapore is a terrible place. If you can, you should get out. Emigrate. Ladies and Gentlemen, <br />
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To say Singapore is a terrible place is an understatement. The most important thing to be happy is not a million dollars. It is to be able to be who you are, think what you want, believe in what you want and most importantly the chance to be yourself. <br />
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In Singapore it is not possible to be yourself. Not possible to have common sense. Truth is what they tell you. And over a period of time, you slowly begin to believe the nonsense you are forced to believe. 2 and 2 is no longer 4. It may be 5 or 6 or anything they want you to believe. <br />
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Singapore is a dictatorship. And the laws and social conduct of the island is tailored to prop up the dictatorship of the Lee family. Laws in order to have any legitimacy have to be at least be based on common sense. Not in Singapore. In Singapore the laws generally have no basis under common sense. They are legislated by a Kangaroo Parliament in order to secure the island dictators, ie. the Lee family and their henchmen. <br />
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Let me give you an example. In any society, it would not be illegal to hold a peaceful protest anywhere. We are not harming anyone. After all we are human beings and being human beings, we have the right to criticize, as long as we do not harm anyone or break any laws. Not in Singapore. In Singapore, even though it is obviously legal to hold a sign up and say "Down Down the prime Minister" it is illegal under Singapore laws. You will be arrested even if that is all you did. The government argument is such activity will disrupt public order although there is no logical proof of this. But your common sense tells you that no disorder will occur if you just did this. So the reason why you have such a law is obvious. The dictator of the island does not want anyone to threaten his position. <br />
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Another example. If you call the Prime Minister corrupt, you will be arrested. But the truth is, he is corrupt. He is the highest paid politician in the world in a city state which is one third the size of New York City! By any reckoning this is obviously corruption. The man and his cronies are simply minting money. But if you did call him corrupt, you will be sued in his Kangaroo Courts, imprisoned and bankrupted. But common sense would tell you there is nothing wrong in calling a politician corrupt if he is indeed one. Not in Singapore. If you did you will be destroyed. His henchmen in the government and the courts would make sure of that. <br />
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The Singapore dictatorship has a set of laws designed to ensure you just obey, regardless of whether it makes any common sense or if it is good for the country. <br />
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Let me set out the nonsense in the island<br />
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1. You are told the Constitution is sacrosanct. The basis of all laws. The Constitution clearly allows free speech. But the state has abrogated this right. It is no longer true that the Constitution is sacrosanct. it is not. And you are required to believe it. <br />
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2. Peaceful assembly is protected under the Constitution. But in Singapore it is not so. You need a police permit. And even if you applied for one, you will never get it. And the people have accepted this prohibition. <br />
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3. Under the Constitution, there has to be rule of law. But in Singapore every judge is appointed by the state and required to use the law to silence all dissent. So you no longer have rule of law. But you are required to say it exists. You have Kangaroo courts. And the people accept it. <br />
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4. Under the Constitution, you have the right to a free press. But every single newspaper is state controlled. You no longer have a free press. But you are told to say you have a free press. <br />
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5. The rulers are all from the Lee Kuan Yew family except for obvious cases such as the Tamil Shanmugam who is not ethnic Chinese. This is nepotism. But if you said so, you would be sued jailed and bankrupted. You have to say there is no nepotism. <br />
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6. Everyone under the Constitution has to be treated equally. But not in Singapore. If you are seen as a critic your picture is displayed in the state controlled press. You will be fired from your job. No one would ever employ you. Many critics have been reduced to make a living on the streets of Singapore by selling their own books. The ordinary Singaporean simply accepts this. It appears they support the government persecution of critics. They are unable to think that this is injustice. <br />
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Over a period of time,. when you are required to believe this nonsense under pain of punishment, you slowly begin to believe the government nonsense. You slowly begin to lose your logic under this constant brainwashing. Just as in Orwell's 1984 when Winston finally believed that Big Bother was kind and good, in Singapore people have finally begun to believe that there is no nepotism, there is indeed rule of law, Singapore is indeed a democracy and a paradise and anyone who criticizes is indeed insane. That is what they want you to believe and they have in fact succeeded. <br />
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The island society has been successfully brainwashed because otherwise they would not be able to continue. <br />
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This brainwashing permanently destroys your reasoning, your logic and common sense. it affects everyone in the island from the parents to their children. <br />
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This is why I strongly recommend that you should leave the island for your own sakes and the sakes of your children. You do not want to destroy your children's normal reasoning ability because this is what happens in this one party police state created and run to keep the Lee family entrenched safely in power. <br />
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Singaporeans have over the years become willing hypocrites who openly state the government line but privately think otherwise. Or their minds have been brainwashed over the years by threats of punishment and the need to obey that they have indeed begun to actually believe in this government nonsense. Either way it is very bad. In order for you to live your lives to the fullest, you have to be able to have self determination and the ability to think and formulate opinions and personal beliefs as normal human beings. This is not possible in Singapore island. And that is why if you can, you should leave the country for your own mental state of mind. <br />
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It is internationally known that the island's workforce has the lowest productivity among countries. The government understands this and has tried over the years to raise it without any success at all. This comes as no surprise. For a doctor to excel in his work, he has to first of all love his work. Secondly he has to know that he will be left alone as long as he obeys the laws. But the laws of Singapore are weird. He cannot criticize the government, he cannot question authority, he cannot associate with opposition politics, but yet he has to excel in his work. This doctor is no longer a normal human being. In order to live in the island, he has to cultivate this disgusting split personality. In his work, he has to think like a normal human being, but when it comes to his social side, he has to think like the way the dictators want him to. Even if he knew otherwise, he has to say that free speech can only be allowed if you have a government permit! In the end, in an unpleasant life like this, he either becomes very unproductive or if he can help it he leaves. And as to how successful he is does not depend on how good he is at his work. It depends on how much he supports the dictatorship. <br />
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<em>If you like what I write please disseminate this post widely in social and other media to allow the widest audience access to it. </em><br />
<br />
Gopalan Nair <br />
Attorney at Law <br />
Fremont San Francisco California <br />
Email <a href="mailto:nair.gopalan@yahoo.com">nair.gopalan@yahoo.com</a><br />
Tel 510 491 8525Gopalan Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15399145588654603667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8081742307252789733.post-64163303106931174032017-08-05T00:38:00.000-07:002017-08-05T00:38:06.639-07:00Singapore one party state is foolish to charge Li Shengwu with contempt of court Ladies and Gentlemen, <br />
<br />
It is widely reported that the one party state authoritarian government of Singapore run by Lee Kuan Yew's son Lee Hsien Loong has commenced contempt of court proceedings against Lee Kuan Yew's grandson Li Shengwu, who is the son of the Prime Minister's brother. <br />
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This is a spill over from the recent disagreement between the 2 siblings of the Prime Minister and him over the will of the late Lee Kuan Yew as to what to do with his house 38 Oxley Road Singapore where Lee Senior lived for half a century. <br />
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And now it is quite evident by this action of contempt of court against the son of his adversary, his brother Lee Hsien Yang that the Prime Minister is escalating the controversy, which is going to hurt the Prime Minister and his one party state government much more than anyone else. <br />
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The contempt charges against the Prime Minister's brother's son who happens to be permanently living and working in Harvard University Boston Massachusetts USA arises out of a Facebook post which he wrote in which he said that the Singapore courts are compliant and that the foreign media tends to self-censor their reports on the country because of a fear of being sued. <br />
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Although anyone who knows Singapore's one party authoritarian dictatorship knows that Li could not have been more correct, regardless of whether or not his statement was true, the Singapore government can do nothing to him and they are simply wasting their time with this court action in the island of Singapore. <br />
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Li Shenwu has stated clearly that he has no intention of returning to Singapore. And if he does not return to Singapore, Singapore's contempt of court judgement, which we are quite sure they will obtain, is no better than a piece of scrap paper. Contempt of court order is not an extraditable offense and the Singapore government cannot apply to have Li return to Singapore if he does not wish to do so. Even if they attempt to do it, they would have to do it through US courts who we know will never send him back to Singapore against his will to a banana pariah island such as this. After all we have the right of freedom of speech in America which we cherish to death. <br />
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The consequences of charging Li while he is in the US will not only result in failure for the one party regime in the island, it will have far wider repercussions against the regime. Firstly this episode will reiterate to the world what the island is, a one party state with no rule of law and no freedoms. Secondly it would mean that Li would never be able to return to the island as long as the Prime Minister his uncle remains in power because if he ever returns, the Prime Minister will throw the book at him. This will help to entrench the hated and animosity between the family members of the Prime Minister and himself. Second it would mean that Li's father Lee Hsien Yang, the Prime Minster's brother and his family will leave the island forever to avoid victimizations at the hands of the Prime Minister, thereby becoming enemies for life. And with the ongoing steadily entrenched feud, the brother would try to do whatever he can to destroy the Prime Minister and vice versa. And the beauty of it all is that as long as Li's parents and himself remain outside the island, there is simply nothing the Prime Minister can do to hurt them. The Prime Minster can take his inevitable contempt order and shove it up, you know where. <br />
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And what he appears not to understand is the obvious, or at least he pretends not to know. Just because you sue someone for contempt of court for criticizing your judiciary does not make it independent. In fact your need to constantly sue people each time one criticizes in fact shows the contrary, that you indeed have a "compliant" judiciary which takes orders from the Prime Minister and his government. Because if you really had an independent judiciary, you have no need to sue people each time they criticize. A judiciary which asks how high when told to jump. <br />
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Li already knows that all this theatrics carried on against him is a total waste of time. The Prime Minister can stand on his head if he wants in Singapore and still nothing is going to happen to Li Shengwu. So my advice to the Singapore Prime Minister is to stop this theatrics of commencing contempt of court proceedings against Li when he is not physically within your Orwellian island. For Heavens sake, get that into your head. Being in America Li is free. And you cannot touch him, ever. So don't waste your time. You are not fooling anyone. You are only making a fool of yourself.<br />
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Just as you can't do anything to me for writing these blogs because I live in a country, USA that respects freedom of speech and they will not demand that I be returned to your one party state Singapore for any trumped up contempt charges.<br />
<br />
Gopalan Nair <br />
Attorney at law <br />
Fremont San Francisco California <br />
Tel: 510 491 8525<br />
Email: <a href="mailto:nair.gopalan@yahoo.com">nair.gopalan</a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null">@yahoo.com</a><br />
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Gopalan Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15399145588654603667noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8081742307252789733.post-70698814650404123482017-07-05T01:55:00.001-07:002017-07-05T16:18:47.775-07:00Singapore's 38 Oxley Rise and the Prime Minister's Parliamentary Clown ShowLadies and Gentlemen,<br />
<br />
Let me introduce myself first. I am a Singaporean by birth, and opposition politician and lawyer. I have now now more than 30 years of experience in law. I practiced law in Singapore for 10 years while I was an opposition politician with the Workers Party while JB Jeyaretnam was at the helm. <br />
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I was repeatedly harassed with all sorts of accusations of legal impropriety, charged for contempt of court and finally suspended from practicing law for 2 years after I left the island permanently in 1991 for alleging that the then Attorney General Tan Boon Teik was not altogether honest when he claimed he "was not given an opportunity to be heard" at the London Privy Council hearing to determine whether JB Jeyaretnam, also a lawyer should be disbarred. <br />
<br />
As you know JB Jeyaretnam was completely vindicated by the Lords in their scathing judgement which said in essence that the Singapore courts where nothing more than Kangaroo courts. <br />
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Subsequently in 2008 while on a visit to Singapore, I had written a blog criticizing Judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean for politically abusing the courts to punish an innocent man, opposition politician Chee Soon Juan. <br />
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For that they sent me to jail for 3 months. After I returned to the US I wrote another blog making the same criticism against another judge Judith Prakash for sending 3 men to jail for being present near her court wearing T Shirts emblazoned with the picture of Kangaroos in judicial robes in reference to the Chee Soon Juan case. Just for that!<br />
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After that the Singapore authorities commenced disciplinary proceedings to have me disbarred from practicing law in Singapore. Not that it mattered as I was not living in Singapore then. Like clockwork, the required punishment was rendered and I was disbarred in Singapore. <br />
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As an active practicing lawyer in California the state bar ethics required that I report any claims of transgressions anywhere in the world. So I duly reported the fact that I was disbarred in Singapore. Not surprisingly, the State Bar of California not only failed to make any ruling on my letter, they simply ignored my letter altogether! I never received an acknowledgment that they even received my letter even though the post office confirms they delivered it! That is how much the State Bar of California thinks of Singapore and it's courts! Anyway I continue to be in good standing at the Bar in California not having missed a day of practice. I also continue to be in good standing at the Bar of England and Wales. So much for that. <br />
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If indeed Singapore authorities feel so strongly as to have me disbarred in the island, should they not press the State Bar of California to require that I answer these charges. You guessed it. They have not done anything. Perhaps they are not so sure they will succeed in American jurisdictions! We have the rule of law here. <br />
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The maelstrom that is going on now in the island concerns 38 Oxley Road Singapore a house that was left by the late Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's previous dictatorial prime minister who has been falsely credited in turning Singapore from a "fishing village" to a great metropolis. <br />
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If anyone knows Singapore they should know that far from being a fishing village, as far back as the late 19th century the British who had colonized the island had already turned it into the most advanced highly developed shipping and bustling trading port in the region. In fact Lee Kuan Yew was in fact a curse not a boon to the island and without him we would have perhaps become a shining democracy instead of a dictatorship it has become. <br />
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Now the question of 38 Oxley Road Singapore. As a lawyer let me tell you about the law of wills. And I will add that what I am about to say does not require someone with 30 years of experience as I have. Even a first year law student of wills can tell you that. It is simply trite. Just basic. <br />
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About 2 weeks ago, the Prime Minister's siblings had accused him of denying the will of their father Lee Kuan Yew in relation to his house. In the will he expressly stated that upon his death the house should be demolished and in the event that his daughter continues to live there, demolished after she leaves. This clause was very clear. <br />
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And below this clause which we call the "Demolition Clause" he inserted a "Saving Clause". This clause stated that in the event his intention cannot be carried out the executors could find alternative means to dispose of the house. The reasons he cited among others in the saving clause was such things as the denial of planning permission or the laws of Singapore preventing the demolition. <br />
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The place to decide on the disposition of assets upon death of anyone, including a former Prime Minister is the probate court, not Parliament not select committees, not speeches by the Prime Minister son of Lee Kuan Yew, not anyone else. That has to be understood. <br />
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The duty of the probate court is essentially to give effect to the wishes of the testator. If the testator wishes to give his property to a dog house, it should still be respected. If it is to be demolished, so it must. That much has to be clear. <br />
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Second an explanation of his "saving clause". Lawyers add saving clauses in contracts and wills to ensure that if the first preference of the contract or will cannot be carried out for some unforeseen reasons, then it can be distributed according to the testator's second choice. This always relates to unforeseen circumstances. For instance if one leaves all his money to his old school in Swatow China but in the event that the Communists take over the country as in 1949 and the school is destroyed, the testator can state the money should be given to his children according to his wish in the saving clause. Perfectly understandable. <br />
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Or for instance if you make a contract with the Germans and you fear the Nazi Party will form the government thereby making your contract illegal, you could state that the terms change to deal with that emergency. <br />
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But Lee Kuan Yew adding that saving clause did not in any way mean that he meant anything other than what he exactly intended, that is, the house should be demolished upon his death or after his daughter had vacated from the house. <br />
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In any case at the time Lee Kuan Yew made the will, there was no impediment in destroying the house. No laws prevented it. One never knows what the situation should be if his daughter chose to live in it for many years and then vacated. But in any case planning laws or government laws does not usually prevent a house from being demolished, unless of course something totally out of the ordinary happens, such as the entire island will sink into the sea if they did it! You can see my point of course. The saving clause meant in reality nothing. Unless you have an unusually vivid imagination, such as Martians landing in the island, if the house was demolished, whether now or 20 years from now, there is absolutely nothing to tear the house down. <br />
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Lee Hseing Loong the million dollar Prime Minister followed in his tail by a bevy of lawyers knows that he has a right to challenge the will in the probate court proceedings. He has even said that somehow his father, himself a lawyer and a member of parliament at the time did not, believe it or not, understand the will. If so why did he not challenge it? We know that he never did and let it stand, which means he accepted that that was the last will and testament of Lee Kuan Yew as written. <br />
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But instead of challenging it in court, he now holds this clown show in parliament to debate the will! Parliament is no place to decide a will, it is the court and he knows that too well, yet he makes a fool of us all by this clown show in Parliament. <br />
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But if you have followed this cunning, or rather dumb might I add, Prime Minister in parliament, he was suggesting that the saving clause allowed him to preserves the house since according to him, his fathers wishes were, believe it or not, "not very clear" and that he had left the issue of demolition "open". <br />
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What bloody humbug is that for Heaven's sake! It is plain English. It says demolish. The saving clause in no way changed the testator's intention, which was that the house should be demolished. Simple as that! Basic first year Law of wills and laws of contract. No need for Rumpole of the Bailey to tell you that. <br />
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What has transpired during the long rambling tooth pulling pain of the Prime Minister in Parliament was a disgraceful attempt to treat us all as bloody idiots. We know that the will states what it states and that is that. No manner of subterfuge or sophistry can change that. <br />
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Now let me come to demolition of a different kind, the demolition of his political opponents in Singapore's disgraceful history. Singapore is rightly called by many as the apex defamation regime. <br />
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Which means, if you ever dare to criticize the Prime Minister or his PAP ministers, he will unleash his Kangaroo Judges upon you. You will as the sun rises tomorrow, be either sued and bankrupted in hundreds and thousands of dollars and in many instances imprisoned as well! <br />
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The argument they use to sue all and sundry is apparently an old Chinese cultural belief that if you are a political leader and if you are criticized, you will lose your moral authority to rule and therefore in order to uphold your legitimacy, you have no choice but to sue and bankrupt your political opponent. <br />
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Naturally in this way, all possible criticism against you or your government is destroyed and you can rule over your docile timid silenced population ever after. You can see how well this has worked for him looking at Singapore's history. <br />
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Continuously for the last 58 years since independence countless Singaporeans, including me, who have criticized his rule have all been silenced and his party, the erstwhile Lee Kuan Yew, Goh Chock Tong and now the son of Lee himself have all ruled with total impunity. <br />
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Now comes suddenly and a peasant surprise indeed, his siblings have come out with charges previously unthinkable. After all who would have dared to stand up to Augustus Cesar and expected to have another breath. <br />
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But then his accusers are not the ordinary subjugated silenced Singaporean. It is none other than his own brother and sister, members of the elite no less and persons in important positions of authority. They have called out Lee Hsien Loong the Prime Minister at his actions. They have accused him of, no less, "lying" to Parliament, "misleading" Parliament, "not telling the truth" "using his power to hurt them" "nepotism" "Big Brother" and the attacks continue. <br />
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Naturally following the uncontroverted unquestioning rule for everyone in Singapore to follow, including his siblings who we must be assume not to be above the law, the natural consequences of uttering these accusations, under the Singaporean understanding of lawsuits, is for him to immediately sue his brother and sister for millions of dollars thanks to his puppet Kangaroo judges, and put them away forever. After all what about the Chinese adage. But no. He has said he will not sue because, he claims, they are his brother and sister! Wait a minute, one rule for the rest of us peasants and another rule for his family members. It therefore seems that only his family members are entitled to freedom of expression but no one is. <br />
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One rule for some, another for others. Unfortunately for all of us, we were not lucky enough to be part of his family. Otherwise we too can enjoy freedom of expression. <br />
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I remember since my days as a lawyer in Singapore the terror he showed to anyone who criticized. JB Jeyaretnam was repeatedly sued for defamation, in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, jailed and disbarred and bankrupted. He has since died. <br />
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Tang Liang Hong an opposition politician was sued for defamation of character just because he lodged a police report in the 2007 elections and driven out of the country. <br />
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Chee Soon Juan was repeatedly sued and bankrupted and now reduced to selling his books along the Singapore sidewalk to make a living. <br />
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I was charged with contempt of court in 1991 general elections all because I said the manner Subordinate courts appointed their judges should be more fair and independent. <br />
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Now after having crushed all and every dissent in the island with an iron hand with his Kangaroo judges, does it not seem rather hollow the grandiose claims he makes of protecting his honor. Where is honor now after his own brother had called him a "liar". <br />
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Having you seen the clown show that is going on in Parliament about this. Every single member of parliament is quietly sitting like lifeless tombstones or as if they were in a church in quiet meditation. <br />
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Their faces all carry a sense of fear and if they are minded to speak they stand up meekly and utter nothing more than squeaks lest the Emperor Prime Minister and his puppet Speaker be displeased. It reminded me of watching some Hitler's Nazi Trials against some Jews who were accused of some transgression. Were they to speak even a little more, the Judge roars at them and threatens the firing squad instantly. It is a shame. Watch for yourself. <br />
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I think the man is finished now. No one can take him seriously. He is now seen as just a confirmed coward, who dares to go after the small man simply because he can get away with it, but fears to face others more his equal. <br />
<br />
Gopalan Nair <br />
Attorney at Law <br />
San Francisco bay Area, California <br />
Tel: 510 491 8525 <br />
Email: <a href="mailto:nair.gopalan@yahoo.com">nair.gopalan</a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null">@yahoo.com</a><br />
<br />Gopalan Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15399145588654603667noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8081742307252789733.post-9150269124588171692017-06-27T11:52:00.001-07:002017-06-27T11:54:28.707-07:00<a href="https://youtu.be/A5UBM-iH4mE" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1498587836948_2676" rel="noreferrer" shape="rect" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/A5UBM-iH4mE</a><br />
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<br />Gopalan Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15399145588654603667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8081742307252789733.post-58007056528305220352017-04-30T23:11:00.000-07:002017-04-30T23:16:23.467-07:00Why severe punishments for Singapore National Service dodgers will be counter-productiveLadies and Gentlemen,<br />
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I was reading the article "Clearing the Air on NS dodgers" in Singapore's state controlled newspaper Straits Times of May 1, 2017 <a href="http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/clearing-the-air-on-ns-dodgers">http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/clearing-the-air-on-ns-dodgers</a>. The Singapore government has decided that punishments meted out in the past were unduly lenient and because the birth rate continues to fall, severe stress is placed on the Singapore Army to maintain its numbers. Therefore they have decided that the best way to solve this problem is to heighten punishments, obviously because they believe that severe punishments would therefore persuade anyone thinking of defaulting to think twice. <br />
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Although for a handful few, this may be the reason not to abscond, I think for the vast majority it will have the reverse effect. It will give them a reason never to return to Singapore whereas if the punishment was lighter, they could still return to do their National Service and make amends with the government. <br />
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The main reason why the new strong arm tactics will not work is the fact that failure to do national service is not an extraditable offence. Singapore cannot force a national service defaulter living in a foreign country to return to Singapore through the extradition process used in criminal cases, that is, the arrest and removal of the defaulter by the foreign government to Singapore. As long as national service offense continues to be non-extraditable, the defaulter can stay as long as he wants abroad and remain safe. The only thing he cannot do is to return to Singapore. And in most cases, there is no great hardship to the defaulter in staying away. He can travel to every country in the world, as along as he doesn't step foot in Singapore. <br />
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Extradition laws are primarily a 2 way process. If there is an extradition law in force, both the foreign country and Singapore have to agree to make it an extraditable crime. Since many foreign countries that do have national service are unlikely to have their defaulters seek refuge in Singapore of all places, there is no benefit to them in signing extradition treaties with Singapore for national service. And even if there was such a treaty, it is not a question of simply arresting the defaulter and sending him home. He has a right to challenge his extradition in the foreign court and he could raise a long list of defenses why he should not serve, such as the lack of rule of law in Singapore, the lack of democracy, the lack of free speech and expression and so on. In the end even if there was an extradition law, it may turn out to be far more embarrassing to Singapore to even try to bring a man back. But all this is moot, since at present there is no extradition laws in place for national service. <br />
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In most cases of national service default, the defaulter usually has no incentive to return anyway, punishment or no punishment. In most cases, they are usually the children of foreigners who were temporarily working in Singapore. Since there are no strong ties to Singapore anyway, it is not hardship at all for them to continue living abroad. <br />
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How would a child of an English father and a Singapore Chinese mother who worked temporarily in Singapore island and left for England with the boy, who by the way has lived in Singapore only temporarily, be persuaded to return to Singapore just because he happened to be a Singapore citizen. Threatening him with long prison sentences is not going to make any difference at all since he is not intending to return to Singapore anyway. <br />
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And this threat of punishment will in effect have the opposite effect of actually increasing the numbers of defaulters, since it will tend to convince them never to return thereby causing the state to lose a valuable pool of citizens since the ones who have lived abroad have much greater skills and qualities than those who have never left Singapore. On the other hand, if punishments are lenient, many could even have a change of heart and return to work and live in Singapore, whereas that would be mostly unlikely when faced with the prospect of harsh punishments and long jail terms. <br />
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On the whole Singapore island national service policy has been a total failure. There is an inbuilt fault in the system. It is difficult for any intelligent young man to be persuaded to like Singapore national service where you live as if you were a slave, with no freedom of speech, expression or assembly, the rule of law or a free press. It is very hard for a Singaporean young man to be patriotic when the leaders are unashamedly corrupt to the tune of millions. The Singapore Prime Minister and his Ministers all pay themselves millions of dollars each year which they call salaries. How anyone could call an income of $3 million which is the Prime Ministers' salary beats me. <br />
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In the end, if the Singaporean ministers thought that beefing up the punishments for avoiding national service would discourage defaulters, I am sorry to say it will have the opposite effect. Thanks to the new laws of enhanced punishments, more defaulters will simply stay away. <br />
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Gopalan Nair <br />
Attorney at Law <br />
A Singaporean in Exile<br />
Fremont San Francisco California <br />
Tel: 510 491 8525<br />
Email: <a href="mailto:nair.gopalan@yahoo.com">nair.gopalan</a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null">@yahoo.com</a>Gopalan Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15399145588654603667noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8081742307252789733.post-55028288069775961242017-04-05T23:59:00.001-07:002017-04-06T00:07:21.753-07:00It's a bad idea to illtreat your own citizens. The Singapore one party police state should know this by now. Ladies and Gentlemen, <br />
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Ever since the full independence of Singapore first from British and then from Malaysia, it has been a one party authoritarian dictatorship. Today there is no free press, no right to free speech, assembly or association and the judiciary are bunch of Kangaroos carrying out their leaders dictates. Naturally the intention of these dictators was of course that if you remove all critics, silence the opposition, you can continue to rule as corruptly as you want forever. <br />
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But it usually doesn't turn out that way. For every action there is a reaction. For every attempt to silence dissent, there are similar numbers acting against you. In the end common sense would always win. No one likes a repressive government. The people would retaliate and the state will slowly unravel. It may take some time but it will always happen. This is exactly what is happening to the one party authoritarian dictatorship of Singapore island today. <br />
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Singapore is too tiny to be able to withstand a sustained depressed economy. For a tiny island, if you do not have vibrant economic growth, you don't have the buffer that larger countries have to avoid collapse. Any major fluctuation will be the end. <br />
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In the 1980s the Lee Kuan Yew one party government of Singapore began their campaign to silence me. I had joined the opposition Workers Party and openly proclaimed my opposition to the regime. This is not ordinarily done. Most people in that island are afraid to openly state their opposition. And the Lee administration had to make sure that others will not be emboldened to do what I did. So they had to publicly destroy me through trumped up criminal charges and law professional discipline. <br />
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Not wanting to give the Lee administration the pleasure of abusing my rights, I chose to leave Singapore permanently for the United States. The effect of their actions actually backfired. Many lawyers were outraged by the abuse of legal process employed in this case. They could also witness the abuse of law against JB Jeyaretnam, the famous Lee opponent and more recently Chee Soon Juan. As a result of the indignation of anyone with common sense, and a sense of decency and fair mindedness, many lawyers and other professional left Singapore in disgust. In fact these actions intended to silence me and others has resulted and in fact continues to the be cause of one of the highest levels of brain drain in the world from the island of Singapore. The attacks against me has hurt the one party state in Singapore far more damage than it has cause any of us. <br />
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The one party authoritarian city state of Singapore I am sure were taken aback and surprised that I refused to crawl and submit in the face of their repression. Their experience in most cases had been that anyone who faced trumped up charges simply rolled over and crawled. Instead of pleading guilty to their trumped up charges to their utter surprise, I defended my self against every charge every time, and this put them to even more embarrassment in the eyes of their citizens who could clearly see the drawn out battle between them to unjustly punish me and my determination to resist at any cost. <br />
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The fact that I now live in California allows me to continue to criticize the Singapore government and invariably continue to hurt this regime. Reading this blog, even more Singaporeans leave the island, those already settled in the West continue to persuade others to join them. The end result is that the very best and brightest, since you need skills to settle abroad, leave the island leaving behind only those inferior and incapable of leaving Singapore island. My attacks against the Singapore administration has in fact resulted in the reduction in quality of the residents in Singapore island since those remaining behind are far inferior to those who have left. Because so many highly educated Singaporeans leave with no one to do the jobs, the administration is forced to bring in plane loads of Chinese national every year to fill the blanks. These new immigrants are given instant citizenship and made to feel Singaporean when in fact they are neither Singaporean or anywhere similar. For them it really doesn't matter if a donkey is the President since after all they are only there for a few more dollars. In 2015 elections 70% of the citizens in Singapore voted for this one party police state dictatorship. Since no one with any self respect or any intelligence would do that, it proves that the quality of citizens has so much declined that you have now citizens who really don't mind how they live.<br />
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There are many other ways in which this decay in the government is manifested. For the last decade you have seen economic growth either stagnant or a mere 1% or 2%. Why is it today so low as compared to the double digit growth numbers we had seen in the past. It is the same for the same reason. When you abuse your citizens' rights you get a bad reputation. And when you get a bad reputation, many countries with a sense of moral responsibly don't want to have anything to do with you. Many Scandinavian countries, bastions of freedom and democracy are fully aware of the repressive style of government in that city state and in fact some countries given a choice would prefer not to trade with Singapore at all. This explains partly why the economy continues to decline and hovers at the 1% or 2% growth rate maximum. And I take pride in continuing to make known to the world through these writings what Singapore really is and which has an adverse long standing effect on that Singaporean economy. <br />
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Another consequence of the repression is that today the island of Singapore has the lowest birth rate in the world. This happens to be major worry for these dictators who know that the rapid extinction of the Singaporean race through the lowest birth rate in the world and a very large elderly and dying population, would not bode well for Singapore. Without Singaporeans, they know that Singapore will be over. But despite all sorts of persuasion by dictators through tax incentives, large cash payments for childbirth and extended paid vacations for mothers, showing porn on state TV, instead of the birth rate rising, it is in fact falling and fast heading to near zero birthrate! Yes I take credit for this too, since it is the dissemination of the facts of the deplorable state of human rights in the island that has created the present dire situation and I intend to continue to write to expose this regime. I don't intend to stop. <br />
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Today the island struggles economically to survive thanks to my writings and the various efforts of other opposition advocates who result in exposing this administration for what it is. <br />
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I have been writing to encourage Singaporeans who have been persecuted for their political beliefs to seek a new life abroad in the West. Since I myself had obtained asylum in the US, I am a strong example for others to follows. I have been the contributory cause of many who have applied for asylum abroad. Recently we have had Amos Yee Pang Sang, a young man who had insulted religion with bad language in the island and has been granted asylum in the US. I know that he was encouraged to do this by reading my blogs. At present I am representing 3 other Singaporeans who have all applied for asylum in the US and all have told me that it was my blogs that made them do it. Han Hui Hui, a young woman who was repeatedly harassed victimized and persecuted has recently left for an unknown West European country for asylum. My blogs had an effect on her actions too. These are the people I know, whereas there are many others who have left Singapore on account of reading my blogs whom I do not know. <br />
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So on balance, if you ask who is hurt more out of this, me or the Singapore government, I can assure you that the Singapore government is hurt far more and will continue to hurt from the pages of these blogs. It is true that my writings have not created a revolution in the island but victory need not necessarily come out a revolution, it can also come from a slow and steady attrition to a steady downward slope towards eventual collapse. <br />
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I will continue to write exposing this regime. In the end, if given a choice of who you want to deal with, a democracy like Australia or New Zealand or a banana republic like Singapore, I think more countries slowly over the years would realize that it is morally comforting to and also economically safer to be dealing with democracies with the rule of law rather than to deal with banana republics which denies the rights of their citizens through corrupt state compliant Kangaroo courts. <br />
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Gopalan Nair <br />
Attorney at Law <br />
A Singaporean in Exile <br />
Fremont San Francisco California <br />
Tel: 510 491 8525<br />
Email: <a href="mailto:nair.gopalan@yahoo.com">nair.gopalan</a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null">@yahoo.com</a>Gopalan Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15399145588654603667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8081742307252789733.post-72530357183374463532017-04-02T18:48:00.000-07:002017-04-02T20:10:21.587-07:00The mechanics behind why Amos Yee Pang Sang Singaporean hate speech proponent remains detained. His prospects are turning into suspect. Ladies and Gentlemen,<br />
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My name is Gopalan Nair. My expertise in US Immigration law is as follows. I have been practicing US immigration law from my Fremont (San Francisco) California office for more than 20 years. My specialty is immigration including asylum and removal proceedings. My law firm is Gopalan Nair Attorneys at Law at 39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A2, Fremont, CA 94538. My phone number is 510 491 8525. <br />
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Most asylum applicants who apply for asylum from within the United States after having been admitted at a port of entry are not detained. Amos Yee Pang Sang's case is an aberration. Perhaps he was wrongly advised. Most asylum applicants if coming in through a US port of entry have visitors visas as was the case with Amos Yee Pang Sang. If Yee had informed the immigration officers at Chicago Airport that he was merely coming for a visit in accordance with his visitor visa (Visa Waiver) status, he should have been allowed to enter. <br />
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It is true that it is not entirely honest for a traveler seeking admission at a port of entry to say that he is coming for a visit when his real intention is to apply for asylum but since the law allows for this and since people can change their minds, there is really nothing wrong to do this. In any case, this is what is routinely done. At present I am representing 3 asylum cases from Singapore. 2 came in last year and one this year. 2 are all working with work permits while waiting for their asylum. They were not detained. <br />
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But since Yee had himself admitted to the airport that he is in fact coming to apply for asylum when his visa status is visitor, this is a violation of his visa status which requires the immigration to detain him until the end of the proceedings. <br />
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In the past when someone obtained an asylum grant in custody, even if the Dept. of Homeland Security stated a desire to appeal, he is usually let out and if the appeal is granted, he should then be apprehended and removed. As you can see this practice is flawed and open to universal abuse since someone who was granted asylum will never be found in this huge United States, in the event the government succeeds in their appeal. Unless he himself voluntarily surrenders himself, the government would find it impossible to remove an alien who had lost in the government appeal. He could have moved anywhere in the 50 states. He would be able to stay in the US for the rest of his life, although illegal. <br />
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President Trump realizes this loophole and now demands that even those granted asylum, if detained, remain detained until the government's appeal is over. In the even that the government succeeds at the Board of Immigration Appeals, Yee will continue detained until Yee's appeal to the Court of Appeal is heard (that is if Yee wants to appeal). <br />
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There is a remedy for those who are held for extensive periods in custody awaiting a decision known as <em>Rodriguez bond hearings (Rodriguez vs Robbins).</em> Usually those being detained are entitled to request release on bond every six months on the ground that it is patently unjust to detain a man for extended periods while waiting for hearings or decisions. This problem can be overcome if the case is heard expeditiously and no grave prejudice is suffered by the inmate due to the delay. <br />
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I think therefore Yee is not going to be released until the outcome of the appeal of the government before the Board of Immigration Appeals, Falls Church Virginia. <br />
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Coming to the case, I think that Yee is going to lose his case for several reasons. If you read Judge Cole's decision, a great deal of his decision was based on background information on Singapore, that is, it is a one party state, it has no free press, no right to free protest, the courts are biased and so on. And using this background material, the judge tried to connect Yee's case to these background facts and therefore decides, Yee was persecuted after all. One such reasoning, trying to stretch the facts to fit the outcome you want is when he referred to Yee's video of "Lee Kuan Yew is finally dead". The judge says that since nearly all that video is a criticism of Lee Kuan Yew and since only a fraction was about insulting Christianity, therefore the prosecution for religious hate is unwarranted! <br />
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There is an adage that goes like this, "Give a dog a bad name and hang him". This is exactly what Judge Cole and Yee's attorney are doing here. Paint Singapore very black as a heartless bloodthirsty regime and conveniently claim therefore that Yee was persecuted after all. <br />
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No one can deny that Singapore is a dictatorship. We all know that. But the question here is not whether Singapore is a dictatorship but whether they have unjustly persecuted Yee. From these facts it cannot be said that he was persecuted. He was rightly charged and convicted for hate speech, an offense under Singapore law which stands up to international scrutiny as a just law in a multiracial and multi religious society. <br />
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The judge fails to see that first, Yee was never charged with anything political and second even if 0.1% of the video is about religious hatred, Singapore law still makes it an offense to promote religious hate and he still becomes guilty regardless of the fact that 99% of the video is about Lee Kuan Yew. <br />
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There is one part where Grossman, Yee's lawyer argues that Yee has been selectively prosecuted unlike others like Calvin Cheng and Jason Neo. If she knew the true facts and yet argues these 2 cases as evidence of selected persecution, she is not being entirely honest. Both Calvin Cheng and Jason Neo, who had made disparaging remarks about other races and religions, when challenged, immediately and unconditionally apologized and undertook never to do it again. Since then they have never again insulted any other race or religion. <br />
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Yee on the other hand claims he has a right to insult others and their religions and has sworn that he intends to continue doing it. In such a case did he expect to have been let off like Calvin Cheng or Jason Neo? Yee is almost a professional religious hater which he does using the utmost of vulgarities obscenities and profanities. He has said he is determined to continue insulting Islam and Christianity repeatedly using the words "F............ing". Did he expect Singapore courts to allow him to continue in this manner? Of course not. There was nothing wrong in not prosecuting Calvin Cheng and Jason Neo. But Yee deserved prosecution. <br />
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Moreover it is necessary for his own safety not to release him. It is publicly well known even in the Muslim community in the US that he has insulted Islam and is determined to continue doing so. The Muslims in Singapore have been a very tolerant lot so far to have left Yee alone, but to release him to the society in the US, a gun carrying society, can mean his murder. On that score as well, he should not be released for his own good until the appeal is heard. <br />
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I am sure the Department of Homeland Security understands the situation in Singapore better now and some of the absurd arguments made in in this case in court. I have a strong feeling that he will not be released during the pendency of the appeal, the government's appeal will be allowed and he will be retuned to Singapore. <br />
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Gopalan Nair <br />
Attorney at Law <br />
A Singaporean in Exile<br />
Fremont San Francisco California <br />
Tel: 510 491 8525<br />
Email: <a href="mailto:nair.gopalan@yahoo.com">nair.gopalan</a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null">@yahoo.com</a><br />
<br />Gopalan Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15399145588654603667noreply@blogger.com1